An Old Man in a Young Body V2
by seagate
Summary: Naruto was a skilled Shinobi, brutally thrust from his homeland into the great unknown. Luckily for him he was an adaptive guy, and where others might fail, he thrived. Welcome to Fiore, home to Fairy Tail's newest Guild Master, Naruto Uzumaki!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So as I am sure some people were wondering, I have decided for both my 'Ten Tailed Wolf' story and my 'Old Man in a Young Man's Body' story, to keep the originals on the website and maybe clean them up and potentially continue if I find the motivation.**

 **However I have also decided to rewrite them adding in new ideas and fine tuning some of the issues I think the previous stories had. There will be some changes form the originals as I remove things I didn't think quite worked and add in new things that I do think work.**

 **However I will mostly be revamping the old chapters, making them flow better, improving characterisation and weening out the things I didn't like about them. So hopefully it won't take me too long to get the stories back to the point at which I stopped them. Though I won't be ignoring my other stories, as I am already in the midst of updating two of my other ones.**

 **Also like with my other story, MY original story that I am rewriting. The initial** **idea came from reading LordVanity's Irresponsible Master Naruto! With the Author's full permission and support.**

 **That being said the first chapter of my N/Fairy Tail story has been done and the second is almost there. I will endeavour to do a chapter a week until I catch up to where I was previously.**

 **Hope you all enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 1**

 **(In the town of Magnolia)**

It was late at night in the town of Magnolia, and it was raining. Currently all the denizens of the fair town were huddled away in either their homes or in bars, waiting out the rain as they spent time with their friends and those close to them.

At the edge of the town though, in a small yet comfortable house that had been built into a tree, two people were sat around a table discussing less than pleasant things. One of the people was a short, elderly looking man with a shock of white hair protruding from the sides of his head, and a bald dome on top. A large whiskery moustache covering his upper lip as he clasped a mug of ale in one hand, a slight frown on his face as he was lectured by the other person in the room. This person being a tall, stick thin woman, with greying, pink hair tied in a bun at the back of her head, and old looking reddish coloured eyes. A stern expression prominent on her face as she laid into her guest.

"You're an old fool Makarov! And when I say old I mean it. You're not a young man anymore, the stress of running the Guild and being a Wizard Saint, it's too much. If you continue to push yourself like this, then I'm not sure how much longer you'll be able to keep it up!" Porlyusica, a former member of the Wizarding Guild Fairy Tail, scolded. The frown on her face intensifying as she saw the stubborn expression on Makarov's face. A mixture of irritation and concern for one of her closest and oldest friends, forcing her to intervene before the silly man worked himself to death.

Letting out a sigh as she saw the man's frown, Porlyusica let out a slight sigh. "Makarov, you need to retire, or at the very least you have to take a break as Fairy Tail's Guild Master."

"Nonsense!" Makarov Dreyar, the current Guild Master of Fairy Tail, replied stubbornly, the frown still on his face as he tried to ignore the concern he could see in Porlyusica's gaze. Only for his scowl to falter as he felt the woman's gaze boring into him, "You're worrying about nothing. I mean, I'm feeling just fine, I'm just a little stressed is all!" Makarov continued, skirting around the truth, as deep down he knew she was right. He was old, he was tired and the stress of the Guild was not making it any easier on him.

"Just a bit stressed?! You're just as big a fool as you always were. You look like you're about to collapse any moment now!" Porlyusica replied harshly, her face darkening as she tried to impress upon Makarov the importance of what she was saying, "If you keep this up, you'll die, you silly old man!"

"I won't die, not with you by my side," Makarov replied with a dry chuckle, half-joking as he sent his friend a crooked half-hearted grin. Trying to put her mind at ease and also get her off his back. Not that it worked on getting the scowling Porlyusica to divert her attention from the current conversation.

"You know as well as I do that I'm not a miracle worker. Not even I can help you if you die... Makarov!" Porlyusica responded, a slight sigh leaving her mouth as she brought one of her hands to her temple and began massaging it. What was it with Dreyar men and being stupidly stubborn?

As if sensing what she was thinking, Makarov's half-grin grew a bit more genuine, much to Porlyusica's irritation.

"Look, I'm not saying you have to retire for good. Like I said, just take a break or a holiday, not a long one, maybe just a few months. You just need a break from the stress of being Guild Master. You can have Erza or Laxus maybe even Gildarts's if you can find him, take charge until then," Porlyusica continued, trying a different tack with the stubborn old man. After all she truly was just trying to look out for his well-being. As while it was true that she disliked most people, Makarov was one of the few she did like, an exception to the rule so to speak.

Makarov sighed slightly as he heard her suggestion, his brow furrowing as he thought about the prospect of taking time away from Fairy Tail, and the kind of shenanigan's its members, his pseudo children, would get embroiled in without his guiding hand, "I can't... those children, my children, they need me..."

"I'm sure they do, but at this rate your body will fail you and then you'll die... for their sake, if not for your own I suggest you either retire or at the very least take a break. What you do is up to you of course, but if you want to die then so be it! I'll morn you, and I'll miss you, but I will also know I did everything I could do to help you." Porlyusica replied bluntly, her tone turning slightly solemn as she spoke of the fate that could befall Makarov if he were not careful. Her sharp words cutting through Makarov's excuses and hitting home as his smile faded.

"I guess you're right, I guess I really do need to relax," Makarov finally admitted, letting out a sigh, deflating a bit as he sagged slightly in exhaustion. Her words had finally reached him. The elderly woman only nodded, glad that he had at last heeded her words, seeing this Makarov continued, "I guess I'll have to think about who the new part-time guild Master will be..."

 **( - )**

 **(Fairy Tail Guild Hall, the next day)**

The rain of the day before had given way to bright sunshine and clear skies in Magnolia, and taking advantage of the change, the streets were filled with people. Some of them were flitting through the bustling market stalls, whilst others were sat in one of the large parks that were dotted around the town, luxuriating in the warmth of the day.

Makarov however, was currently in the ever loud and boisterous Fairy Tail Guild Building, a large, one hundred year old, wooden building that overlooked the sea, and the home to the Fairy Tail Guild. One of the strongest Wizarding Guild's in the entire of Fiore, and one of its most infamous. Not for any sinister reasons of course, but more because of their often and flagrant flouting of some of the Magical Council's more petty rules.

At the moment, the short Guild Master was standing on the counter of the worn out wooden bar that extended across one side of the Guild. Behind which, Mirajane, Fairy Tail's beautiful bartender, usually worked, a smile almost constantly on her face and a kind word ever on her lips.

As he stood there, he couldn't help but just watch as his Guild Members, his children, fought, drank and laughed with each other, smiles on their faces as they laughed out loud and joked together. He had seen most of them grow up from young children and teenagers who first came to the Guild, often frightened and alone, into the fine young men and women they had become today. No matter what anyone said, no matter how many complaints the Magical Council sent him, he couldn't be more proud of his children.

' _This is only temporary Makarov, it is not a goodbye no matter what, because even if I can't see them… even if we are separated, far apart from each other… I'll always be watching over them. I'll definitely watch over them, forever…,'_ Makarov thought as his soft eyes moved over the members of his Guild, a sad smile on his face at having to be separated from them, even for a short time. Still Porlyusica had a point, if Makarov wanted to live to see what else the little rascals would get up to, then he would need a break.

Nodding his head at that though, he knew it was time, no more waiting, no more prevaricating. It was time to l finally tell them his news. After all, he had gathered them all here for that express purpose, he was sure many of them would have preferred to have been outside enjoying the sun, or on missions. But still they had all come at his request.

"Listen up you brats!" Makarov bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the large building as he got his rambunctious children's attention. The slightest of smiles on his face as he saw them all looking at him, all of them silent as they waited for him to continue.

Waiting a few seconds as a curious silence hung in the air, all of them looking expectantly at their Guild Master, waiting for him to make the 'important announcement', that he had gathered them all here to hear.

Letting out a slight cough, Makarov decided to just come out and say it. Which is why, as bluntly as possible he said, "I have decided to step down as Guild Master."

A few moments of silence followed this, as many of the Guild Member's gawped at him in confusion. Unfortunately though, the silence didn't last.

"WHAT?!" Was the sudden deafening outburst of a number of the Guild Members, the Guild Hall soon becoming filled with shouts of protests, and exclamations of both shock and surprise.

Of course some of the reactions were a bit more comical, as some who had been drinking booze at the time, spat out their drinks in shock. The most obvious being Cana Alberona, a very attractive brunette Wizard, one who specialised in **'Card Magic'** , but was better known for her ability to out drink almost anyone. Who at the time of Makarov's announcement had been chugging from a small keg, meaning that in her surprise she had drenched Macou and Wakaba, two of Fairy Tail's veteran Wizards in a shower of beer.

"T-This is a joke, right?!" Gray Fullbuster, an athletic, dark haired teen, infamous for his control of **'Ice Make Magic',** and his proclivity for unconsciously stripping naked for no apparent reason, gasped out. The teen in question staring at the Makarov in shock, ignoring for a moment that he was half naked and currently being held in a headlock by the pink haired Fire Dragon Slayer, Natsu Dragneel.

"I-Is Fairy Tail disbanding?!" Elfman a tall, powerfully built man, with spiky white coloured hair and a rather prominent scar running down one side of his face shouted out, almost hyperventilating. Though whether that be from the news he had just heard, or from his current positon, being buried under several other Fairy Tail members was unknown, however what was obvious was the fear and worry in his voice.

A soft smile spread across Makarov's face as he saw and heard his children's shenanigans, even as he shook his head in response to Elfman's question, "No, Fairy Tail is more than a Guild Master it is a family and it has been here long before all of us were born and it will be here long after we are gone. No, I am temporarily stepping down as Guild Master because my health isn't the best at the moment, and if I want to live to see the next generation of Fairy Tail, then I'll have to take a break for at least a little while. Which is why, until I return, someone else will be taking over my role as Guild Master..."

At that proclamation a wave of relief rushed through the Guild. After all if it was only a temporary situation, then that meant that Master Makarov would probably just go on a holiday, maybe to Akane Resort, for a couple of months so he could kick his feet back and relax. After all everyone needed a holiday once in a while, and Makarov had spent the last forty years acting as Guild Master of Fairy Tail, if anyone deserved a break it was him.

After the confirmation that he was not leaving for good settled in, the whispers of who the next Guild Master would be, even if they would only be part time, began circulating through the crowd. Several of the Guild Members beginning to start throwing around guesses of just who the next Guild Master might be.

"It'll be Gildarts for sure!" Natsu Dragneel, a lean, athletic young man of average height, with a slightly tanned skin tone, black eyes and spiky pink-coloured hair shouted out enthusiastically. The pink haired Wizard being one of Fairy Tail's most troublesome members, renown for being both of user of **'Fire Dragon Slayer Magic'** , and for causing the most collateral damage to personally property whilst on missions.

"It'll definitely be Laxus!" Evergreen, an attractive and busty brunette wizard, with glasses smirked. A haughty expression on her face as she looked around the Guild Hall, as if daring someone to challenge her claim.

"Ha! No way, my money is definitely on Erza, she's one of the strongest in the Guild, and has the experience and the right temperament," Macou, a middle-aged man with slicked back dark blue hair stated confidently, as he slammed one of his feet on a wooden bench to emphasis his point.

"No, you're talking out of your arse. Erza's too young, and too strict to be Guild Master yet. If you ask me it'll be Laxus. He has the power and the reputation, plus as Makarov's grandson he has the lineage!" Wakaba, a middle aged Wizard with brown hair in a pompadour style and a cigarette in his mouth said. A smirk on his face as he met Macou's gaze.

"No It will be me! I AM A REAL MAN!" Elfman bellowed excitedly, while pounding his chest trying to show his manliness to the world as he did so. The heavily built Wizard making a great show of flexing his muscles as he did so.

"Ha! In your dreams Elfman!" Gray shouted in response, finally breaking Natsu's headlock and leaping at the now free Elfman. Tackling him into the ground as he did so, which in turn made the white haired Wizard stumbling backwards into a number of other Fairy Tail Wizards.

Within moments the gossiping and newly begun fighting was once again interrupted by Makarov, who upon seeing that he was about to lose their attention, decided to clear up a few more things, "I have an idea on who I want to be the next Master, but I haven't asked the question yet or gotten an answer. But that is a problem for later, let us not worry about this, no for now, for now is the time to celebrate, let's party!" Makarov roared a mug of ale held aloft in one of his hands.

In response everyone began to loudly cheer in agreement to their Master's proclamation, before things once again descend back into the chaos that was Fairy Tail on a normal day.

 **( - )**

 **(One Day Later, the Fairy Tail Guild Hall)**

"Oi, old man, what the hell did you call me here for? I'm a busy guy you know?!" Laxus Dreyar, a tall, powerfully built young man with blue eyes, tanned skin, spiky blond hair and a distinctive lightning bolt scar running down the side of his face, growled at his grandfather, Makarov. A prominent scowl on his face as he glared down at the old man, his impatience clear to see.

Currently they were on the second floor of the Guild Hall, in Makarov's cluttered little office, surrounded by large stacks of paperwork, most of which were complaints about the damage the members of the Guild had caused whilst out on missions. Most of which was courtesy of Natsu.

Ignoring his surroundings for now, Laxus instead focused on his frowning grandfather, his blues eyes narrowing as he gestured to the other occupant in the room. "And why the hell is he here?! Is this about you leaving?!"

The person Laxus had been referring to was a tall, young looking man, with medium length, wavy and spiked dark-blond hair. The man had thick eyebrows, twinkling blue eyes and tanned skin. He actually looked quite similar to Laxus, only shorter and less brawny, with slightly softer facial features. A slight smirk playing around his mouth as he watch Laxus's theatrics.

The other blonde was wearing a black, button up, long-sleeved shirt, over the top of which he wore a dark brown leather jacket with a folded, grey fur-trimmed collar and breast pockets on either side. He also wore simple black jeans with frayed hems and battered dusty brown leather boots. Overall he cut quite an unremarkable figure, neither as large or imposing as Laxus, or as small and striking as Makarov.

"Yes Laxus, my leaving is exactly the reason I called you. In fact it is why I called you both here from your obviously busy schedules. And before you ask, that is because I've decided one of you will be Fairy Tail's new Guild Master," Makarov replied whilst looking the two young men over, sending a slight frown to Laxus because of his abrasive attitude.

Ideally he would prefer for Laxus to have had a few more years of experience, and to have matured more, before he offered him the position of Guild Master, even if it were only temporarily. Unfortunately though he was the second best option, and so had been invited here in case Makarov's first choice refused, which knowing him was a likely possibility.

"I know you are both powerful, and that you both have the potential to be great leaders, which is why before I choose I just want to hear something from you two before I make my final decision on which one of you it will be." Makarov continued giving the other man in a room a pointed look at that. After all the job was his, all he had to do was say yes. Not that he would tell his grandson that, the man's ego wouldn't accept being second choice.

"It'll be me obviously! I'm mean why the hell do you think this guy could do it? You would think that the Guild Master would at least be someone from Fairy Tail! This bastard, he's just a nobody!" Laxus responded, his voice raising as he glared at his fellow blonde. He knew who the other man was, though he suspected there was more to it than he had been told. Still he knew the man, even if only a little, and he didn't particularly like him.

"To be fair, young Laxus make a good point. After all Makky, I'm not even a Fairy Tail mage anymore!" The young looking man finally spoke up, his tone soft. Though as he spoke, there was an amused look on his face. The slightest of grins present as he watched the interaction between grandfather and grandson, it seemed a lot had changed since the last time he had visited. "I mean has your old age finally caused you to become senile?! Do you want me to take you to a retirement home or something?" He continued, letting out a bark of laughter at the scowl the old man sent him.

"It wouldn't be fair if he became Master!" Laxus spoke up, cutting Makarov off as he did so. "Like he said old man, he isn't a member of Fairy Tail, at least not anymore. Come on just think about it, we've seen him what, like once or twice in the last decade. Fairy Tail's Guild Master would have to actually be a member of the Guild, and not some flaky, unreliable bastard, whose leadership would make the Guild weaker than it already is!" Laxus continued to say alternating glares between his fellow blonde and his grandfather. And to be honest he did have a good point.

"Damn kid what happened to you? I mean you used to be such a sweet kid, don't get me wrong though, you were a pretty bratty teenager, but I thought you would have grown out of that by now!" The blonde haired man replied, the faintest hint of disappointment in his tone as he met Laxus's gaze. Easily dismissing the other blonde's harsh glare. "I'm a bit disappointed kid, you had the potential to be great. But look at you, you're squandering your talent and allowing your ego to change who you are."

"I don't give a damn if you're disappointed Uncle! You mean nothing to me, you speak of wasted potential. But just look at yourself, you're little more than weak trash! Actually, now that i think about it, can you even use magic?" Laxus sneered, his anger getting the best of him as he snapped out at his Uncle, Naruto Dreyar.

"Don't let your temper get the best of you Laxus, despite what you think and what he says, he is in fact a powerful Wizard, and a member of Fairy Tail. He still has his Guild Mark, and so for as long as he bears it he will remain a member of Fairy Tail!" Makarov replied, his tone more tired than before as he brought his hand to his head and massaged his temples.

Naruto and Laxus had once been so close. Back before the unpleasantness with Laxus's father, Ivan, had gone down. Looking at them now though, he could see the bond they had once shared had all but dissipated. The cause being Naruto's frequent absences from Laxus's life, and the bitterness and ego that had consumed his grandson over the last few years.

"Alright I'll give you that much, I've still got the mark." Naruto replied, absentmindedly rubbing his covered shoulder "But it's been years since I was an active member. I mean ignoring Laxus's bullshit, he did have a point. I'm not really that well known the Guild anymore, it'd be only the older members who would really remember me, and even then they won't have much more than a passing familiarity with me."

"I'm mean seriously, how long ago were you a member!?" Laxus spoke up, his irritation forgotten for the moment as he instead gave Naruto a curious/ suspicious look. "You've barely aged since the last time I saw you, how bloody old are you Uncle?"

"Didn't you know it's rude to ask someone their age?" Naruto replied dismissively. Not because he had any insecurities about how old he was, but more because he knew the Magic Council would be a right pain in the arse if some of Naruto more well-guarded secrets got out, and that was hassle he wasn't interested in at the moment.

"Hn! Whatever!" Laxus said with a grunt, pushing aside his curiousity as he instead went back to scowling. "Keep your secrets old man, it doesn't matter. What does is that you're unsuitable to be Guild Master."

"Which is something I totally agree with." Naruto responded with a nonchalant shrug, a slight smile playing around his face, as he saw Laxus's surprised look and Makarov roll his eyes.

To be fair Makarov should have expected this, after all Naruto was not interested in positions of power. He had grown up a lot since he was a kid, and had realised that positions of leadership came with great responsibility and often demanded great sacrifices. Which as an overconfident kid with nothing was fine and dandy, but as a grown adult with loved ones, was not something he was willing to do, not if there was someone else suitable for the task.

"I know your opinion already Naruto, but I disagree. You lecture Laxus about wasted potential, but then you try to avoid position of authority where you could do a great deal of good and help a lot of people. Many people would call you a hypocrite." Makarov spoke up, knowing as he did so that those words would hit Naruto hard. After all Naruto was many things, he was kind and noble when he could be, ruthless and merciless when he had to be, but hypocritical, that was one thing Naruto allow himself to be seen as. It was a low blow, but one Makarov was happy to dish out.

As he suspected Naruto frowned as he heard that, his brow furrowing being the only sign of irritation he showed. Though deep down Makarov knew Naruto embodied the Dreyar fury and the hot-headedness that all the members of their family seemed to have.

Ignoring that for now though, Makarov instead surveyed the two prospective candidates for Fairy Tail's next Guild Master. Naruto was generally quite carefree, irresponsible, and a little eccentric. Laxus meanwhile was seriously power-hungry, arrogant and had an issues control his anger, however there was still goodness in him, hidden under all the blunder, arrogance and old hurt. But yes deep down inside he was genuinely good.

But unfortunately only one of them would be Master. Even if Laxus did make a good point about Naruto not being Master because he hadn't been around for a long time, out of his two family members Makarov figured Naruto would make a better Master.

Despite this he still owed Laxus a chance to prove himself if Naruto rejected his offer. Plus if Naruto did accept, then the blow to Laxus's ego could do him some good. It could bring his grandson back down to earth, and knock some of the arrogance out of him.

Laxus was right though, Naruto once was a member of Fairy Tail. That had been many years ago though, it was likely that not many people remembered the blond ever being a member. Mainly though that was because most of the current Guild Members weren't members at the time, with some of them having not even been born.

Makarov looked at Naruto's right shoulder, even though the blonde had his leather jacket on, he knew Naruto still had the orange Guild mark he had gotten many years ago. Makarov also knew that Naruto still bore the mark with pride.

"Makky," Naruto finally spoke up, his voice as cheerful as ever as he pointed at Laxus, "I may not be the best choice for the positon, but it kinda surprises that me you are considering making this brat the Guild Master of Fairy Tail."

Laxus growled in annoyance as he heard that, his eyes narrowing as he glared at his Uncle. Though whether the blonde was really his Uncle was questionable considering Laxus's father, Ivan, never had a brother.

"You got a problem with me?! I don't care if you're family, I will break you if you get in my way! I'm the only one in the Guild who deserves the position! Gildarts is too unreliable and Erza is too weak and inexperienced. I'm the only real choice!" Laxus growled out as he glared at Naruto.

His hands clenching into fists as he shrugged off the big, thick fur-trimmed over coat he was wearing over his shoulders like a cape, leaving him in a purple button up shirt and black leather trousers. A few moments after he did this lightning began to crackle and jump around him as he began to draw on and release some of his magic. The action causing the air to become thick with power and static, the smell of ozone beginning to fill the room.

"Laxus there will be no fighting, especially between family!" Makarov snapped at him, his eyes flashing golden for a moment as his voice deepened. "My decision as Master will be final and you will accept it no matter what the result may be!"

"Hmph, whatever, just make me Master already!" Laxus snapped back, though as he did so he stopped releasing his power, both because his grandfather had a dangerous look in his eyes, a look that warned of impending doom, and also because his Uncle didn't look at all bothered by his display, in fact he just looked bored.

Makarov stayed silent. Before he spoke, "I want both of you to tell me why you want to be the Guild Master, and if you did become Master... what would your goals for this guild be? Don't think of lying either, because I will be able to see right through your lies."

"Oi, I don't want even want to be the Guild Master!" Naruto spoke up first, raising his hand in a last futile attempt to avoid having to answer, "I mean it's just too much work, why would I want to be a Guild Master for such a troublesome guild? Hell think of all the stuff I could do instead, you know hit up a few bars and casinos. Maybe get out of Fiore for a bit, I've heard Seven is nice this time of year."

Makarov ignored that comment resignedly, and instead turned to Laxus, "Laxus, I want you to answer the question!"

Laxus smirked as he clenched his right fist in front of him, "I want to be the Guild Master to make Fairy Tail even stronger... I want to have everyone fear and respect us! I'll kick out the weak trash that don't deserve to be in this Guild old man, and Fairy Tail under me will become truly the strongest Guild in Fiore."

"I see..." Makarov sighed at this. It wasn't wrong to have ambition, but Laxus's way, he just didn't like it one bit. Laxus loved Fairy Tail, and he knew that, but his way wasn't the Fairy Tail way, he would only lead the guild to ruin that way. Looking at the expression on Laxus's face and hear his words, Makarov knew his grandson had a lot of growing up to do before he would be ready to become a Guild Master.

"Naruto... your turn," The old man said as he turned to Naruto, not missing the faint frown that was on the other blondes face as he heard Laxus's answer.

"Eh? Are you deaf? Or is your age finally catching up to you? I told you I don't want to be Master... it seems like way too much work for me!" Naruto said with a bark of laughter, though Makarov did notice that his protests were not as vehement as before. The other man having obviously realised just how unsuitable Laxus was for the positon.

"Let's say hypothetically you were Guild Master then, what would you do?" Makarov replied simply, the faint smile around his mouth telling Naruto that he had seen through him. The other man may like to think he was a former Shinobi, but subtly, by his own admission was never the greatest of his abilities.

"Nothing." Naruto's responded, his answer simple and to the point.

 _'_ _Like always you're a hard to understand man.'_ Makarov thought while he sweat-dropped, he was doomed! He could already imagine the Guild being destroyed due to the blonde's carefree, lazy personality! Clearly heh ad underestimated Naruto's reluctance to become Guild Master. That being said though, he had to admit he did like Naruto's response better than Laxus's, it was more the Fairy Tail way.

"Very well!" Makarov said after a short pause, nodding as he sent the now wary Naruto a slight smirk, "Naruto you will be Fairy Tail's new Guild Master!" Makarov continued on, the smirk turning into a full grown grin..

"WHAT?!" Both Naruto and Laxus yelled in union.

Laxus almost growled in rage after he heard Makarov's announcement, "You'll leave the Guild in the hands of this fool? He is not fit for it! Does he even have magic?! I've never seen him use any before, and I don't sense any coming from him now?!" Laxus snapped out whilst he glared at his Uncle.

"Oi, don't act like you're fit for it to brat!" Naruto snapped back, his sharp blues eyes meeting Laxus's raging ones. One of his hands going into the inside pocket of his jacket, and pulling out a small hipflask, which he then proceeded to swig from. The harsh spirit inside dribbling down Naruto's chin, as he tried to think of a way out of this situation, that wouldn't leave the Guild in the hands of Laxus.

"See?! He's dribbling like a child, and drinking, how the hell is that responsible!" Laxus shouted, gesturing at Naruto as he did so.

"Everyone dribbles occasionally, but unlike them, I do it openly and don't try to hide it, as for the alcohol have you ever actually been in the Fairy Tail Guild Hall!" Naruto replied as he stoppered the flask and stuck it back in his pocket, one of his hands coming up to wipe his mouth.

"Very wise words, Naruto!" Makarov nodded ignoring Naruto's actions, "Do you know how many times I have to hide my dribbling, one of the curses of old age I'm afraid? The fear of being caught doing it is unbearable!"

"Stop joking around old man!" Laxus snapped at Makarov, "Get serious and make me Master!"

Makarov suddenly turned serious again as he heard that, the glint of danger returning to his eye, making Laxus regret what he had just said. Continuing to glare at Laxus, Makarov said, "I've made my decision Laxus. Naruto will be part-time Master whether you like it or not, and nothing will change my decision, not you, not the gods and certainly not Naruto!"

"OI, so I get no say in this?!" Naruto snapped out, his voice slightly raised as he frowned at Makarov indignantly, before saying, "Do you want to die old man? You already got one foot in the grave I'll gladly help you find peace!"

"Yes you have no choice Naruto!" Makarov glared at him ignoring his tasteless joke, knowing that his defiance was more for the sake of being defiant than him actually being unhappy. After all Naruto likely knew as well as Makarov did that he was the only viable choice.

"You rotten brat, if dear Rita was here I bet she'd beat your ass into the ground for your insolence!" Naruto snapped back, though like before his tone held no real heat or anger to it.

"Just follow me Naruto." Makarov continued ignoring his remark for the most part, save for a slightly nostalgic smile at the reference to his mother, as he and Naruto walked out of his office, and into the stairway of the second Guild Hall floor. Leaving behind a very angry Laxus.

A few moments later the two of them made it to the balcony that overlooked the main hall. Where as they stood they could see everyone in Fairy Tail was doing their own thing i.e. drinking, fighting, gambling, talking etc. Though from the sounds of it they were mostly all wondering who the new part-time Guild Master would be! Would it be Erza? Laxus? Mirajane? Gildarts? Hell would it be Natsu?!

"Oi, listen up you brats! I bring you the new part-time Master for Fairy Tail!" Makarov all of a sudden yelled from the second floor, grabbing everyone's attention, "Meet Naruto Dreyar, your new Guild Master!"

There was a few moments of surprised silence as they heard that. All of them watching as a blonde haired man, who looked vaguely similar to Laxus walked forth. A slightly bored expression on his face as he scanned the crowd of Wizards below.

"Yo!" Naruto said uncomfortably, giving a short half-hearted wave, his gaze scanning the watching Wizard. A part of him really not wanting to be here right now.

Everyone inside Fairy Tail thought the same thing as they heard the Master's announcement, and saw their new Guild Master.

Who the hell was the blond?!

 **( - )**

 **AN: So as some might have been able to notice I altered a few bits and pieces of Naruto's character that I thought were too infantile. On top of which I made it so Naruto and Laxus were acquainted, though Laxus only considers Naruto a distant and eccentric relative.**

 **This was something someone picked up in the reviews on the original. How it didn't really make sense how Laxus would have no clue who Naruto was. Taking that into account I made a few minor changes. I also added a bit more development to their initially characters, something I think was missing from the original.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it.**

 **My next update will hopefully be next week. Though if I get the motivation I'll try to get it out later this week or on the weekend.**

 **Also at the moment I am still fine tuning my improved plot for Ten Tailed Wolf, and so won't publish the first chapter of that until I have solidified what I want to do and who, what and why my characters are like they are.**

 **My 'Road to Hell' story should be getting updated tomorrow, for those who are interested.**

 **Thanks for reading, hope you all leave a comment or a review.**

 **Seagate.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So I have to say there was a good response to my last chapter, which I really appreciate. Even if there were one or two idiots. Still it was mostly positive.**

 **A few things I have gathered is a concern over a repetition of a phrase in dialogue, which after I was notified, I noticed. Suffice to say I have ironed some of those repetitions out so it should flow better. So my thanks to the few who told me, I appreciate you pointing it out.**

 **The next issue raised was the name of the story, whereby a number of people wanted it to be renamed, "An Old Man In A Young Man's Body", like the original. So I have no problem naming it that, as I only named it "A Twist of Fate" to distinguish it as different. Which is why for something simple like this I thought I would ask other people what they think, as I am not bothered either way. Both titles work for me.**

 **Other than that there was a lot of support which I really appreciate, so thank you.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter, thanks for reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

 **(Last Time)**

 **( - )**

 _"Oi, listen up you brats! I bring you the new part-time Master for Fairy Tail!" Makarov all of a sudden yelled from the second floor, grabbing everyone's attention, "Meet Naruto Dreyar, your new Guild Master!"_

 _There was a few moments of surprised silence as they heard that. All of them watching as a blonde haired man, who looked vaguely similar to Laxus walked forth. A slightly bored expression on his face as he scanned the crowd of Wizards below._

 _"Yo!" Naruto said uncomfortably, giving a short half-hearted wave, his gaze scanning the watching Wizard. A part of him really not wanting to be here right now._

 _Everyone inside Fairy Tail thought the same thing as they heard the Master's announcement, and saw their new Guild Master._

 _Who the hell was the blond?!_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 2**

 **( - )**

 **(In the Fairy Tail Guild Hall)**

There was a few seconds of silence as all of the assembled members of Fairy Tail absorbed their Guild Master, Makarov's, most recent announcement. The eyes of almost everyone in the Guild, were currently fixed on the subject of Makarov's speech, their new part time Guild Master, Naruto Dreyar.

The blonde in question standing awkwardly beside the old man, a slightly uncomfortable smile on his face as he gave them a lazy wave. His distinctive spiky blonde hair, tanned skin and blue eyes standing out and reminding more than a few of the staring Wizards, of Makarov's grandson, Laxus.

After Makarov stopped speaking there was a few moments where nobody said anything. However after the realisation settled in, about the fact that this stranger, this person many of them had never met, would be the new Guild Master, the Guild erupted with a cacophony of noise. With questions being shouted out, and shouts of surprise that it was not in fact Gildarts, Laxus or Erza that had been chosen. The Guild's most notable S-Class Wizards, and those who many believed were the only real choices for the job.

"Who the hell is he?!" Gray shouted out, his brow furrowed in confusion as he looked up at the blonde, who upon closer inspection only seemed a couple of years older than him.

"Looks kind of like Laxus doesn't he?!" Wakaba said, a thoughtful tone to his voice as he puffed away on his cigarette. His gaze locked on Naruto as he tried to work out whether he had seen this guy before.

"Well the Master did say his last name was Naruto Dreyar, I suppose it could mean he's another one of Makarov's grandsons?!" Macou said, a scowl on his own face as he also looked up at the blonde. For some reason he couldn't help but have a nagging feeling that he had met this man before, or at least seen him.

"No, I don't think he is the Master's grandson. As far as I know Master Makarov had only one son, Ivan, and Laxus is the only child he had." Cana spoke up, a frown on her face as she looked up at the blonde. She had been at the Guild since she was a very young child, nearly twenty years now, and she had grown up with Laxus and had met Ivan. She was sure she would have known if Laxus had a cousin or Ivan had another son. Plus just like Macou and Wakaba, something about the blonde seemed familiar.

The rest of the Guild was similarly surprised as many of them began muttering amongst themselves. None of them being abjectly opposed to Makarov's announcement. After all the Guild Master had led the Guild well, for over forty years now. That at very least, had earned him the benefit of the doubt.

Upon hearing the pandemonium breaking out Makarov allowed it to go on for a few minutes, letting his rambunctious children get the worst of it out of their systems. Before with a loud shout he of "Quiet you brats!" he once again got their attention, "Now I know this may be a surprise to some of you, however I feel that it is the best choice for Fairy Tail going forward. Naruto after all is a close relative of mine and is also a powerful and trustworthy Wizard as well. More than that though, he's also a member of Fairy Tail and has been for many years now, even if he hasn't always been around! I expect you to respect my decision, as you should all know I would never do anything that might endanger Fairy Tail. So drink and make merry, free drinks for all, on me!"

The whole crowd cheered in agreement as they heard that, many of them putting aside their questions for now. After all the questions could come later, free drinks on the Guild Master though, that was a rare opportunity to drink themselves silly. Which is why, with that said they raised their glasses and cheered. The Guild Hall rapidly descending into its usual rowdiness.

Watching this Naruto couldn't help but smiled a bit, despite his misgivings. Fairy Tail it seems, was still the same relaxed, easy going place he remembered, and despite any reservations he might have on coming back to the Guild and being the new Master, even if only temporarily, he realized that life here was at least going to be interesting.

As he stood on the second floor balcony of the Guild Hall next to Makarov, he took in all the laughing and smiling faces, taking note of the occasional face that seemed to be looking at him, seemingly judging him, yes this was certainly going to be interesting. A couple of those faces he even recognised, like young Macou and Wakaba, both of whom had been in their mid to late teens the last time Naruto had properly been in the Guild for longer than a quick visit.

The two of them he remembered had been quite brash and confident at the time, proclaiming to the rest of the Guild that they were going to be Fairy Tail's new aces. A part of him was curious to see what the two of them had made of their lives.

Letting out a slight sigh, and deciding that he had shown his face enough to be polite, Naruto decided that he needed to start getting serious. Which meant that Makarov and him needed to talk. Which is why, after looking away from the main hall, he turned to instead look down at the diminutive Guild Master.

"Makky we need to speak as soon as we are done here" Naruto said, his voice still calm, yet holding a slight note of steel in it as he saw the cheerful grin on the smaller man's face.

Hearing that, the now former Guild Master, looked up at Naruto a little shiftily, his smile fading slightly, before eventually with a sigh he nodded. Makarov having picked up on the seriousness in Naruto's usually mellow voice.

Deciding that there was no point in putting it off Makarov nodded his head once more, as if assuring himself of his next actions before he began heading back to his office, waving for Naruto to follow after him, with a muttered, "Follow me then."

Without another word, Naruto followed along behind the previous Guild Master, once more towards Makarov's, now Naruto's office, where they could talk more privately. The two of them ignoring all the rowdiness going on back in the main hall as they did so.

After stepping back inside of the cluttered room, Laxus having already likely stormed off, without a sound they sat down on chairs in the room. With Naruto sitting in the nicest, most comfortable chair, kicking his feet up on his new desk as he did so. Whilst Makarov first locked the door behind them, and then sat on the chair just in front of his old desk. Doing a good impression of an insolent school boy about to get in trouble.

"Well what's this about?" Makarov asked in a slightly nervous voice, for all of the Wizard Saint's power and authority, a single stern look from the man in front of him could still easily deflate him.

Naruto sighed in response, not saying a word for few seconds as he just looked at the former Guild Master intently, his fingers beginning to drum on the top of the desk as if he were lost in thought.

"I'm not angry Makky, but what I am, is a bit annoyed, and do you want to know why? Well let's see. I get an urgent message from out of nowhere asking for my presence back at Fairy Tail, so being the conscientious former member I am, I hurried over expecting chaos and bedlam and what do I find? I find my cheeky little brat of a son cornering me into being the next Guild Master! I mean have you seen the paper work a Guild Master has to do, do you want me to have a damn heart attack?!" Naruto finally spoke up, his tone grumpy and irritable as he again pulled his hip flask out of his jacket pocket again, before he took another swig.

Chuckling as he heard his unnaturally, youthful looking father's comment, Makarov nodded and cleared his throat. "Well Dad, hehehe, you see the old ticker isn't what it used to be, and we can't all be pseudo immortals like you. So well I thought, because you're one of the founders of Fairy Tail, that this job would be good for you. Fairy Tail is where you belong after all, it's a part of your legacy!" Makarov said, firmly trying to make his father understand what he was trying to say.

"Excuses, you're only as old as you think you are, as for the Guild. Yury was the one who was one of the Guild founders I stopped going by that name when your dear, sweet mother died. If the Magic Council was to know I was still alive then they would be on my ass about it like a rash, you know how power hungry those old bastards are. Anyway stop changing the subject, why are you making me Guild Master?!" Naruto replied the look of irritation still on his face as he lectured his errant son.

Though as he did so, he couldn't help but wistfully remember back to those days. Back when he was a treasure hunter with a couple of other Wizards, Precht and Warrod. Back then he had chosen to go by a different name, Yury, as a Cult dedicated to the Dark Wizard Zeref had been hunting for him. The fanatical fools having thought that Naruto's blood could hold the key to resurrecting the Black Wizard. Which was of course a load of bullshit, still it had been a hassle, and so Naruto had assumed a new identity, as he had done so a number of times before.

Looking back now though, he wouldn't have changed a thing, he had met some good friends whilst going by that name. He'd even built a Guild and fallen in love. He had even confided in those closest to him, opening himself up for the first time in decades and sharing his true identity, his true history. They had been happy days, but like with every good thing, they had had to eventually come to an end. Time was inexorable after all, it eventually came for them all, or well at least for nearly everyone.

Upon hearing his father's response Makarov grew serious for a moment. "You're powerful dad, stronger than I am certainly. That's also why I contacted you, that strength is needed now, dark times are ahead, all of the other Guild Masters and Wizard Saints can sense it too. The number of Dark Guilds in Fiore is rising, artefacts and old demons of Zeref are surfacing again, these are signs, signs that the era of peace that we've enjoyed for so long is coming to an end. Laxus isn't strong enough to lead Fairy Tail through this, and as I am now, neither am I. I'm not well dad, the stress of the job is getting to me I need a break, but Fairy Tail can't be left undefended. I need you to do this dad, please." Makarov said, his tone filled with conviction and passion as he tried to convey all the feelings behind his words to his father.

Naruto had always been a difficult man, and a stubborn one too. When Makarov had been growing up, his relationship with his father had been strained, partly because Naruto had been distant and had always seem to hold his son at arm's length. With Makarov having had far more of a connection to Precht and his mother when he was growing up. As he had matured though, and as he had come to know the great burden his father carried, the two of them had eventually grown closer.

He would never be able to fully understand the man, Makarov knew that. But he also knew that he could rely on him, rely on him to be there for him when he needed it. Taking a breath, Makarov looked over at Naruto, waiting for his words to sink in, and hoping his father would respond how he thought he would.

Naruto frowned for a moment as he heard that, his brow furrowed as he considered his son words. Naruto had also had an inkling of the things to come, after all, although he may never have set up a spy network like Jiraiya had, he was still old enough and experienced enough to realise when change was afoot. "So you have seen the signs to? I suppose then, if that's your reasoning, that I can't really blame you. Plus I'm sure it would do me some good anyway, being back here in the heart of Fairy Tail, being back with family."

Makarov perked up as he heard that. His father having come through for him like he had known he would. "Yeah you're right, it will be good for you to be back here. Plus it'll give you a chance to meet and bond with your great-grandson, Laxus, and the rest of the new generation, you'll love them trust me, they embody the Fairy Tail way, they will truly make you proud." Makarov went on, a happy smile on his face, now that he knew his father would be around, and that Fairy Tail would be in good hands.

"Now enough of this mushy crap Makky lets go out and drink more, after all we will be sending you off tomorrow, off to Akane resort if I am not wrong. You lucky bastard. Sun, hot girls, beaches, hot girls, gambling, booze, hot girls and more. God dammit now I want to go!" Naruto said loudly, jumping to his feet as he did so.

"Hahaha screw you old man this is my holiday not yours, enjoy the paperwork bitch, hahaha" Makarov suddenly cackled, not at all surprised by his father changing the topic of the conversation before things got too deep and emotional, once again his old man was predictable.

With that said Makrov turned on the spot and headed for the door, quickly unlocking and sprinting out as fast as his stubby legs could carry him, now content in knowing Fairy Tail would be safe until his return.

 **( - )**

 **(The Next Day)**

Makarov Dreyar had gone, after a night filled with drinking, fighting and reminiscing of old times he had finally left the Guild, and he wouldn't be back for three months at the least. Makarov having taken the early train out of Magnolia and headed for the distant beaches of Akane Resort.

This also of course had left Naruto Dreyar, as Fairy Tail's Fourth Guild Master, in a bit of a quandary. After all, although he had met most of the Guild last night, it was while he was in a drunken haze. As such he didn't remember much if anything about them, and he was sure it was the same for them in regards to him.

Which is why, after a hearty breakfast courtesy of the attractive white haired waitress, whose name he really should learn. He decided that a Guild meeting was needed, so that he could properly introduce himself and set down the law so to speak. After all, whilst Naruto appreciated Fairy Tail's general rowdiness, he also expected a certain amount of respect and decorum.

Not in the authoritarian, I must control everything, bow to me mortals kind of way. But more in the, I'm the Guild Master, I expect you to respect that. Just as I expect you to obey me when I tell you to do something. After all as a Guild Master he couldn't just be the rest of the Guild's friend, as sometimes he would need to take command.

It was for this very reason that he had taken them all out to an open area just outside the Guild. It was a place that would make a decent sized arena for his planned upcoming event, big enough for a lot of people and far enough away from any buildings or property, so if things did get out of hand, the Guild Hall and the rest of the town wouldn't be totally destroyed.

 **( - )**

 **(With the Fairy Tail members)**

Mirajane was a petite young woman of below average height. She had long, white hair that reached down to her waist and had her fringe tied into distinctive upward facing ponytail on her head. She was also one of the most well-known Wizards in the Fairy Tail Guild.

Technically Mira was an S-class mage, one of the highest rankings a Wizard could have, a ranking that only a couple of dozen Wizards in the entire of Fiore had. In recent years though, she was most well known for her waitressing at Fairy Tail and her modelling for Teen Sorcerer Magazine. One of Fiore's most beloved publications, which covered the many different Magical Guilds throughout the country, and the eccentric and powerful Wizards who were members of these Guilds.

At this very moment though, she was standing at the fore of a small crowd of Fairy Tail Wizards, and currently she was also giving the Guild's new Master a speculative look. Barely a half hour before he had called for a full Guild meeting outside, which in and of itself was not that unusual, what was however was the fact he hadn't said what the meeting was about.

Now she was out here however, stood in the crowd before their new Guild Master, and looking around at the forest clearing they were in and the crowd of Guild Wizards encircling it, she was beginning to have a few ideas what this might be about.

Elfman Strauss her younger brother, a hulking man with spiky white hair and a distinctive scar that ran down one side of his face, was stood beside her. The large man grinning like a loon, he like his sister likely having his own thoughts on what was going on. Or maybe not.

"This Naruto guy, I reckon he's going to be a real man!" Elfman happily proclaimed making the people around him sigh as they slowly inched away from the tall man in complete awkwardness. "He was drinking like a man yesterday and is now going to make a manly man speech about man things today!"

"Elfman you told us most of last night that he is a man, could you just give it a rest while we wait for him to get to the point." Mira spoke up rubbing her forehead in an attempt to get rid of her rising headache, most of the time she could take her brother's eccentricities with a smile, after all she understood where it came from and could empathise.

But last night had been a late one and today she just was not in the mood for it. In fact she was about to say something in response, hopefully distract her brother for a time, when she was distracted by a ripple that seemed to go through the gaggle of waiting mages.

Looking away from her brother, Mira's sky blue eyes instead began to survey the crowd behind her, trying to see what was going on. Of course she soon got her answer when some of the assembled Wizards started shouting in panic.

"Erza's coming! Everyone Erza's here!"

Mirajane perked up as she began to hear what the clearly afraid man was yelling about. Elfman however, upon hearing the shout had started to look a little pale.

Smiling slightly as the loudmouthed mage who shouted ran past them, his arms flailing wildly above his head. Mira and Elfman turned to see a beautiful red haired woman, who was clad in silver armour and was wearing a blue skirt with long black combat boots, striding in their direction.

"Erza, over here!" Mirajane yelled as she waved her friend over to where their group was standing in the crowd.

The redhead in question blinked before smiling as she noticed the perky bar maid waving to her, her stern hazel eyes warming slightly at the sight.

"I'll be right there with you Mira!" Erza replied as she began to walk towards Mirajane, the other mages scrambling to get out of her way as she passed. Upon reaching where the brother and sister were, she gave Mira a brief hug and Elfman a firm punch on the arm before asking, "What is going on? Why is most of the Guild just standing out here? Did Master Makarov call a meeting? Or have you finally destroyed the inside of the Guild with your fights?"

"Oh dear, Erza, did you not hear? The Master decided to take a break from the Guild for health reasons, so he's appointed a temporary Guild Master whilst he's away." Mira replied a sad smile on her face at the thought of Makarov, a man both she and many other Fairy Tail Wizards thought of as a pseudo father figure, being ill.

Erza's face also turned slightly solemn as she heard of Makarov's condition, however there was also a note of curiousity on her face at the thought of their being a new Master.

"Really Master took a break, I suppose even he needs a holiday from time to time, it'll probably be good for him. So with Master Makarov absent, who is the new Guild Master then? Is it Laxus?" Erza asked before stopping as she noticed an unfamiliar, spiky haired blonde approaching her, with a faint smile on his face and a twinkle of amusement in his blue eyes.

Seeing the newly arrived red head and recognising her from a mixture of rumours, Sorcerer Weekly articles and idle chitchat in the Guild the other night, Naruto extended his hand towards her as a form of greeting, "Hey there Red. I assume you are the one that man was screaming about earlier? Which if I am not mistaken would make you the infamous Erza Scarlet, the Titania?"

Erza's eyes twitched at the interruption before she nodded irritably to the unfamiliar man, extending her own gauntleted hand as she did so, and meeting his in a firm hand shake.

"Yes, my name is Erza Scarlet. The man you saw running by earlier, was Jet. Since Master Makarov tends to slack off when it comes to enforcing the rules, I'm usually the one who has to do it in his place. Which makes several of the more badly behaved Guild members a bit nervous around me. Speaking of which, forgive me for being rude, but who are you? I am afraid I don't recognize you!?" She finished with a tight smile, a part of her hoping to put this rude man in his place and maybe intimidate him a little.

After releasing his hand though, Erza then began to look the man up and down. Assessing him like one would an opponent, taking into account as she did so, his youthful appearance, his calm and soft voice, his firm handshake, the confident way he stood and his strangely old eyes. He was a contradiction, and it both confused Erza and made her wary.

In response to Erza's questioning and her searching look, the blonde however merely raised an amused and curious eyebrow. With Naruto not showing any nervousness at her attempts at intimidation, much to the surprise of the S-class mage of Fairy Tail. His gaze instead evaluating her, just as he was sure she was doing the same to him.

Letting out a chuckle at that before, noting the façade of strength, authority and control she was putting up, to mask her own insecurities as he did so. Not that Naruto was about to call her on it, he was not that callous.

"Well that's nice and all Red but I would not try to 'enforce' anything on me as you do to them. Any ways in answer to your question, my name is Naruto Dreyar, Fairy Tail's new, if only temporary Guild Master, and let me just say it's a pleasure to meet one of Fairy Tail's S-class Wizards." Naruto replied a friendly smile on his face, and an unnerving resolve in his gaze as he met Erza's hazel eyes.

The Strauss siblings stiffened slightly as they heard the young man's retort, the colour draining from their faces. With the both of them beginning to wonder if the blonde had a death wish or something, because regardless of being the Guild Master, no one talks to Erza Scarlet the Titania of Fairy Tail like that and gets away with it.

Unfortunately before Erza could reply the blond had already wandered off probably to start his speech. The blonde having maintained eye contact with Erza just long enough for her to look away first, before he had departed.

Erza in response was at a loss for words.

It was the first time in her life that she had ever seen a newcomer to the Guild not afraid of her threatening nature or reputation, and to shoot back with such a reply was surprising to say the least. Watching the blonde as he walked away, Erza began to add up all the things she had noted and came to a simple conclusion.

There was more to the blonde than she first had realized, there was just something about him, something intense, something strong, something… unnatural.

But that still didn't give him the right to be rude. Which is why as she saw Naruto turn to face the crowd, a slight smile on his face, she decided that she would need to teach him a lesson.

 **( - )**

"Oi Gray you stripper! What do you think the new Master guy is planning?" Natsu Dragneel shouted to the dark haired man beside him, a prominent smile on the pink haired Dragon Slayer's face as he started to look around, tugging on his scarf and almost vibrating with excitement.

So far Natsu hadn't had a chance to properly talk to the man, nor had he had a chance to challenge him to a fight. Still, there was still time, and considering the fact that Gramps had chosen him as the new Guild Master then that must mean that he was strong, and if there was one thing Natsu loved it was fighting a strong opponent.

Gray Fullbuster merely smirked in response as he looked back at his fellow Guild mate and rival before he shrugged his shoulders, "Who knows? We'll just have to see for ourselves."

The Ice Wizard in question toning down his answer as he instead gave the blonde Guild Master a searching look. So far he hadn't been able to get a read on the man. He had spoken with him a bit the other night, but that had been mostly drunken talk, and he could remember very little of it.

Natsu frowned as he heard that, and was just about to shout Gray down on his terrible answer, and the fact he didn't respond to Natsu's baiting, when he was distracted by the new Guild Master beginning to speak.

"Greetings everyone! I am sure you are all wondering why you have been called here today. The reason why though, is quite simple actually. Last night we were all too hammered to be properly introduced so I thought I would do it properly now! I am Naruto Dreyar the Fourth Master of Fairy Tail, well at least until the old man comes back from his holiday, the lazy ass." Master Naruto Dreyar spoke out, his voice easily audible as he stood before the crowd of mages, a slight smile on his face as he looked around the group of watching Fairy Tail mages.

Cheers were heard in approval to the Master's presentation as despite most of them being very drunk, they had for the most part, a good first impression of the new Master and now wanted to see more.

"Now although I met most of you yesterday we were drunk and having fun so I don't really remember a huge amount. Which is why I called you all out here, I believe the fastest way to learn about a person is to fight them or to see how they act in a fight. This is why right here and now I am laying out a challenge, I will fight three Fairy Tail mages, one at a time, right here and right now. If you win, I will give you the position of Guild Master if you lose -, well then you can buy me a booze for a week!" Naruto called out, the grin on his face widening.

Of course what Naruto did not say was the true purpose behind this, which was about enforcing his position as Guild Master. After all he was mostly an unknown, and due to his apparent youth it was likely some of the Guild Members would grate under his leadership and maybe question it or second-guess him.

So to stop that Naruto would give a display of power, after all actions often spoke louder than words and if he could prove he had the power to hold the position then it would secure his position long enough for him to prove his ability to lead and command in other ways.

It was a simplistic method, but one that he had learned in his youth. After all it was the way the old genin squads had been run in the Leaf Village. To begin with their was a test, one which was aimed at not only testing a genin capabilities and worthiness to progress, but also to prove the strength and power difference between their Jounin Sensei and themselves. A swift and easy way to establish authority, and here today Naruto would be using the same principles, if slightly altered.

As expected his announcement was initially met with silence for all of about three seconds, before there was an explosion of noise as mages shouted challenges and questions at the new Guild Master. A certain over excitable, pink haired Dragon Slayer being the worst of the lot as he attempted to charge the blonde Guild Master, his hand alight with **'Fire Magic'** as he did so. With the only thing keeping him back being the formidable presence of Erza Scarlet, who was sending the new Guild Master a fierce glare.

Raising his hand Naruto spoke up once again, having to shout to make himself heard.

"The reason for this, is that it will be a fun bonding experience, and it will show you my magic and a little about who I am as a person, as the way somebody fights shows a lot about who they are! So I will start by giving all the S-class mages here a chance to challenge me, before giving the rest of you the same chance, just to make it interesting you know!" Naruto spoke up, his grin widening as he saw how excited the crowd of Wizards was, he could even hear a busty brunette at the back start shouting out betting odds on who will challenge Naruto and how well they will do.

It was cute, they thought they had a chance.

"So with that said who is the first challenger!?"

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think, there weren't any major changes from the first version. However I did expand a bit more on Naruto's relationship with Makarov, and on a small sliver of his backstory, which will become more known as the story progresses. I've also tried to make Naruto's character more mature than it first was, as I personally didn't think I ever truly nailed down Naruto's character as it seemed to vary a lot throughout the original, going from serious to cheerful, to intense to goofy. So I've decided to iron out some of the more immature aspects I added in the first time as it doesn't fit with the character I am trying to create.**

 **Other than that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and leave a review.**

 **Thanks for reading, see you later.**

 **Seagate.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So hello everyone, as promised here is the chapter update for the week. Depending on the support I might try and get the next chapter out this week too.**

 **Anyway here is the chapter, I hope you enjoy it. Just as I hope you leave a comment or a review at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _As expected his announcement was initially met with silence for all of about three seconds, before there was an explosion of noise as mages shouted challenges and questions at the new Guild Master. A certain over excitable, pink haired Dragon Slayer being the worst of the lot as he attempted to charge the blonde Guild Master, his hand alight with_ _ **'Fire Magic'**_ _as he did so. With the only thing keeping him back being the formidable presence of Erza Scarlet, who was sending the new Guild Master a fierce glare._

 _Raising his hand Naruto spoke up once again, having to shout to make himself heard._

 _"The reason for this, is that it will be a fun bonding experience, and it will show you my magic and a little about who I am as a person, as the way somebody fights shows a lot about who they are! So I will start by giving all the S-class mages here a chance to challenge me, before giving the rest of you the same chance, just to make it interesting you know!" Naruto spoke up, his grin widening as he saw how excited the crowd of Wizards was, he could even hear a busty brunette at the back start shouting out betting odds on who will challenge Naruto and how well they will do._

 _It was cute, they thought they had a chance._

 _"So with that said who is the first challenger!?"_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 3**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

Looking over at the crowd of Guild Wizards surrounding him, Naruto couldn't help but smile as he took in the many looks of excitement and anticipation he could see on the faces of those present, with a number of them shouting of encouragement, challenges and bets. A couple of them even tried to convince their friends to step up and take Naruto on, whilst others looked to the only two S-Class mage's present. Curious about whether Erza Scarlet or Mirajane would be the first ones to start things off.

"Now then, I think it's about time we start this little competition of ours. Though first, remember I'll only be accepting three challenges, so you lot have three chances at me." Naruto said loudly, the smile on his face widening as he saw the eagerness of those around him, their excitement having become almost infectious. "So, who'll be my first challenger? Come on, step forward and have a go, I mean who knows, if you win you maybe the next Guild Master of Fairy Tail!"

A little bit of provocation and bait, that was what Naruto was aiming for. He wanted to spar with the best the Guild had to offer, and to do that he would need to entice them into challenging him. That being said he had no intention of allowing anyone to beat him, as if anyone came close he was more than prepared to go all out to deal with them.

"I, Erza Scarlet…." Erza shouted out challengingly, the first of the group to do so, as she stepped forward.

A firm and confident look on her face as she prepared to challenge the mysterious new Guild Master to a fight. As she did so the rest of the crowd quietened down, many of them murmuring excitedly amongst each other as they saw Erza glare fiercely at the smiling blonde. It seems one of their strongest would be the first to take up the challenge.

Unfortunately though, before she could say anything else, she was interrupted by Natsu. The rambunctious Dragon Slayer, now he was no longer being held back, taking the opportunity to charge forward, toward Naruto. His fists already on fire and an eager grin on his face, as he threw caution to the wind and charged his Guild Master.

"FIGHT ME! Come on I challenge you, you Laxus wannabe, I'll kick your punk ass! Come on FIGHT ME, UNLESS YOU'RE SCARED!" The pink haired Dragon Slayer roared as he broke through the crowd and into the centre of the impromptu arena, streams of flame trailing out of his mouth as he ran towards Naruto shouting his challenge. Coming to a stop a couple of metres away, a confident and excited grin on his face.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at that, his gaze now on his challenger. Noting as he did the open black waist coat he was wearing, as well as the white knee length shorts, the simple sandals and the white scale like scarf he had wrapped around his neck. Most of all though he noted the confidence in the boy's smile and the resolve in his gaze.

"Alright then kid, you might not be an S-Class, but who am I to deny such enthusiasm. Everyone give us some room, and pinky, prepare yourself I won't be going easy on you, so make sure you come with at me with everything you've got!" Naruto said loudly, shifting his feet and raising his fists as he watched Natsu coming at him. A slight smile on his face as saw how excited pink haired man was, his apparent hot-headedness and overconfidence, very much reminding Naruto of himself when he was a kid, much younger than Natsu was today.

Heeding their Guild Master words, the crowd of mages quickly backed away, shifting around the edges of the clearing, as they created a wide circle around the smiling Naruto and fiercely grinning Natsu.

Many of them jostling around to get a better view, as they were all curious of just what magic their new Guild Master used. As this was happening, the voice of Cana Alberona could clearly be heard over the noise of the crowd, declaring the odds for the upcoming fight to be ten to one in Naruto's favour. After all Makarov wouldn't pick a person to be Guild Master, unless he was sure they were strong enough, and responsible enough to carry the title.

Plus Natsu as only an A-Class Wizard, was not on the same level as Gildarts, Mystogen, Erza, Laxus or Mirajane, the Guild's current S-Class mages, and going off the terms of Naruto challenge, it was likely he wouldn't measure up to the blonde either.

Naruto glanced around at the large circle that began to form around where he was facing off against the eager pinked haired kid, Natsu, nodding his head in approval as he did. Happy that there was enough space for the two of them to safely cut loose.

Taking his eyes off the other mages and looking over to his opponent, who was currently doing a few pre-match stretches, Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. His hands stuffed into his pockets as he began to consider the upcoming match.

Thinking as he did so about how hard he should be on Natsu, a part of him thought about crushing Natsu like a bug and showing the Guild his strength. That however wouldn't win him respect, instead it would be seen as Naruto bullying a weaker mage, and could backfire in terms of gaining the allegiance of the Guild. Plus it might also demoralise Natsu as a Wizard, which was the last thing Naruto wanted to do.

With that in mind, Naruto decided that he would need to scale his attacks down a little bit. Give the boy a fight, but not go all out from the start. After all the kid wasn't an S-Class mage, and you needed to be at least that to stand a chance against him.

"So I'm curious Natsu, curious about why you're so eager to fight me?" Naruto asked kindly, taking his hands out of his pockets as he shifted around once more. His right leg sliding slightly forward, and his left leg slightly back and to the side. His body square to Natsu as he kept an eye on the eager pink haired Dragon Slayer, careful in case the kid decided to jump the gun and attack him.

Hearing the question, Natsu paused in the middle of one of his stretches, a slightly surprised expression on his face as he heard the question he had just been asked. His expression turning slightly thoughtful as he pushed himself to his feet, his fists raised and ready for a fight.

"Because I reckon you're strong, and I want to fight you to test my strength. Also…, also I want to fight you, so I can prove to Igneel that I'm strong, and so I can push myself to be even stronger, so that one day…, one day I can find Igneel!" Natsu's replied, his voice rising as he continued talking, getting more and more passionate as he did so, "Besides, what if you're too weak to be Fairy Tail's Guild Master, I mean to be Guild Master you need to be strong like gramps?!"

"That's fair enough, it sounds like you have a pretty reasonable reason to get stronger." Naruto replied with a nod of his head and another small smile. The buzz of conversation around them picking up in the crowd surrounding them, as everyone began to get excited for the upcoming fight. "Alright then I'll give you a fight so that you can prove to this Igneel, and yourself, how strong you've become."

"Get ready then, because I'm about to barbecue you! I'm gonna kick your arse!" Natsu shouted back as an aura of fire expanded around him. The pink haired Dragon Slayer trying to psych himself up as he saw the confident smile on Naruto's face, his words carrying no real malice to them.

"Are you ready Natsu?" Naruto replied interrupting Natsu's ranting, a grin on his face as he once again saw himself as a kid in Natsu.

Seeing this Natsu immediately adopted a serious expression on his face, his fist clenching as he prepared to attack. After a few moments though, the serious expression once again twisted into a fierce grin as Natsu prepared to lunge forward and start the fight.

Grinning slightly, Naruto raised his own fists, his eyes noting Natsu's chaotic form. Assuming as he did so that the boy's attacks would be wild and unfocused, substituting skill for sheer power and ferocity.

The crowd began to murmur again as they saw this, causing Naruto's grin to grow larger, his heart beginning to beat faster in excitement for the conflict to come, it had been too long since he had done something like this. The surrounding mages, they all had absolutely no clue what his magic could be. The sheer diversity in the types of magic in the world made it almost impossible for them to guess, especially since Naruto showed no outward sign of what his magic might be like some Wizards did.

"Begin." Naruto said softly, his words still audible to the rest of the crowd.

In response, Natsu wasted no time in getting into a proper stance, as he instead threw caution to the wind, as with a mighty roar he charged at Naruto. The Dragon Slayer having no real plan in mind, other than to go in fast and hard with a barrage of flame powered punches.

Seeing this Naruto could tell that there was no real strategy in Natsu's charge, the boy instead likely going off of sheer instinct and natural fighting ability. It was certainly an interesting approach, if not a wise one. After all Naruto wasn't a run of the mill Wizard, one who could be overwhelmed so easily.

Standing his ground as the Fire Dragon Slayer charged, Naruto, much to the shock of those around him, didn't move. That is not until Natsu was almost on top of him, because just as Natsu's right fist was about to make contact with Naruto's head, he moved aside with a quick side step to the left.

The small action leading to Natsu's wild swing completely missing Naruto, even as, in the same motion the blonde brought up his fist, just as the now off balance Natsu went past him. His clenched fist slamming into the pink haired man's gut, almost folding him in two as Naruto followed through with his punch. An action that brought Natsu crashing to the ground partially winded.

But only temporarily though, as Natsu manged to use the momentum of his fall to roll back to his feet. With Natsu now standing a couple of metres from Naruto breathing heavily, his eyes narrowed, and now cautious as he kept his distance from blonde. The punch having stung him, but not taken him out of the fight, not by a long shot.

"Come on Natsu, you'll have to try better than that if you want to defeat me. Try thinking before acting, it may help you actually land a strike next time." Naruto called out, trying to be helpful, though he didn't even try to keep the smile off his face as the murmurs from the crowd started getting louder again.

Taking a quick glance around, Naruto saw that most people had expressions of pure shock on their faces, _'come on it was like they thought he was a push over, there was a reason he was made the Guild Master after all, the cheeky little shits.'_ Naruto thought as he looked around at the other Wizards reactions

It was not too long before people to started shouting at Natsu to start fighting harder, likely it was the people who had placed bets on him winning the fight. Still they seemed to have the right effect, as the pink haired teen stopped for a moment, before fiercely pointing at Naruto and yelling. "Hey! What are you waiting for?! Take this seriously you won't get another lucky shot like that again!"

Naruto snorted in amusement at that statement, finding himself liking the overconfident kid. "I will start taking this seriously as soon as you actually start fighting me. Is this all that Igneel taught you, how to do a lot of yelling? Come on boy I thought you wanted to prove how strong you are!"

That taunt definitely succeeded in getting Natsu's attention, if the death glare he sent Naruto had anything to say about it, clearly there was a line you don't cross with Natsu and Naruto had just crossed it.

"I'll show you what being a Dragon Slayer is all about, COME ON I'M ALL FIRED UP NOW!" Natsu shouted as he slammed his fists together in front of him.

As he did so flames started to flicker and appear around Natsu enveloping him in what looked like a cloak of fire, the air around him getting heavier and hotter as he started releasing his magical power, the pink haired teen clearly building up to do something big and explosive.

 **"** ** _FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!"_** Natsu shouted before he leapt at Naruto, moving faster than before, as he crashed his flame enshrouded fist down upon the blonde. The area beneath Natsu exploded with flames, as Natsu's strike hit, smoke and barely controlled fire erupting from the point of contact. Natsu's grin widening as he saw it as evidence of landing a clean hit.

"AYE SIR! GO NATSU!" Happy, Natsu's companion, who also happened to be a small, flying blue cat, cheered in a squeaky voice. As he leapt into the air, his white wings spread as he shouted his support for the son of Igneel from within the crowd.

The small cat, expressing his happiness that his partner had started making progress, he wasn't the only one either, as the whole crowd started cheering as the fighting started up again. The loudest cheers coming from the gamblers who had placed their money on a surprise victory from Natsu.

"How do you like that!?" Natsu shouted as he landed back on the ground, his eyes fixed on the slowly dispersing cloud of smoke, a large grin on his face.

However, as the smoke cloud cleared Natsu's and the rest of the crowd's eyes widened slightly as they saw Naruto had disappeared. The only thing that was visible being the smoking crater caused by Natsu's attack.

"You're slow little Dragon Slayer." Naruto spoke up in amusement, before he appeared directly behind Natsu with a cracking of lightning and a flash of yellow light. A slight grin on his face as he kicked Natsu in the back, sending the surprised pink haired boy stumbling forwards and almost falling to the ground.

From there, Naruto vanished again. Disappearing from where he had previously been with another gold flash and a crack of lightning. Only this time he appeared directly in front of the Fire Dragon Slayer, in another flashing of lightning, and slammed his lightning covered fist down on Natsu's head, like a hammer.

With another crash of thunder the blow sent to the Natsu flying head first to the ground, a yell of surprise and pain leaving his mouth. Before he made impact though, Naruto grabbed Natsu by the back of his vest and threw him away from the ground, saving him from a painful landing. The throw instead sending him slamming into the ground a few metres away. Natsu releasing a cry of pain as he made contact with the ground before once again rolling with the strike and finding his feet once again, his pink hair now spikier than ever and several minor burns and scrapes now covering his body.

"Ha, wow you're...really strong. A lot stronger than I thought." Natsu's shouted once his head stopped spinning, his fists blazing with fire once more, "AWESOME! LETS GO AGAIN!?" The Dragon Slayer continued enthusiastically before inhaling deeply, preparing for his next attack.

In response Naruto only smirked as he watched Natsu. Once again making comparisons to himself back in his youth, it was scary just how similar the two of them acted. Though that for Naruto had been many years ago, and since then he had realised that patience, self-control and restraint, were far more important in a fight than overconfidence and bravado. Still the boy was young, soon enough he would learn the same lessons that Naruto himself did.

"Come on show me the power of a Fire Dragon Slayer, boy! Show me your strength!" Naruto called out, a grin on his face as he saw Natsu rear his head back as fire began to stream from his mouth.

 ** _"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"_** **Natsu suddenly bellowed,** an intricate magical circle appearing in front of him as he brought his cupped right hand to his mouth, and then unleashed a blazing inferno from his jaws. The blazing tongue of flame speeding through the air towards Naruto, devouring the oxygen in the air and spreading out as the dense pillar of fire closed in on him.

In response though the Guild Master merely call upon his **'Lightning Magic'** and took the hit head on. The fire engulfing the Naruto's form and temporarily hiding him from view.

Natsu grinned as he saw this, his breathing a bit more ragged after releasing the attack.

"Alright, I got him!" Natsu shouted a few moments later as he pumped his fist into the air in victory. This time though the crowd didn't celebrate with him, as they instead kept their eyes open. After all this had happened just a few minutes before, and they all knew what had transpired after that.

A few seconds later as the fire died down, Natsu's eyes widened when he saw Naruto standing where he had been previously, though now he was wreathed in a cloak of gold coloured lightning, which covered him from head to toe. "Good, you're getting better. Unfortunately though, I have other challenges to take on, so I think play time is over for now."

Some in the crowd jeered at that proclamation by Naruto, apparently they wanted the fight to continue not wanting it to end so soon, not when they had just started to witness his magic. Others though grew cautious as they heard that, the more experienced Wizards having noted that Naruto's attacks had been simple, yet brutally efficient. Which told them that the Guild Master was holding back, and that Natsu was currently way out of his league.

As for Natsu, he didn't waste any time, as he ignored Naruto's comment and instead, immediately started charging Naruto's current position, his entire body enshrouded in fire as he completely ignored the still active lightning cloak around Naruto, and instead tried to get in close so he could take the fight to his Guild Master.

Natsu pulled his fist back again as he got closer, and Naruto noticed that he was easily moving twice as fast as before. His passion apparently lending him strength as he fought with everything he had.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he saw this, the blonde having noticed that the Dragon Slayer seemed to be getting stronger and faster the longer the fight went on. The kid's emotions seeming to lend him more strength and power, the more powerful they became.

A loud crackling noise filled the area as Natsu brought his flame-coated fist into contact with the blond, with it appearing to many of the spectators that Natsu had gotten another clean hit in, and that the blonde's lightning armour had failed.

That was until with an explosion of lightning Natsu was blown away once again, this time crashing into the ground hard and rolling for a dozen metres before going still, his body twitching uncontrollably and his skin covered in dozens of blackened burns.

"Damn, maybe I was a bit rough on the kid." Naruto said into the silence that followed Natsu's failed attack. It seems his lightning armour, was still as strong as ever. The technique having been created by Naruto to use the lightning to both enhance his muscles, reflexes and the synapses in his brain, whilst also providing him with an offensive protection that would zap anyone who got too close.

"No Natsu are you alive, why aren't you getting up!?" Happy the little blue cat wailed as he ran to Natsu's prone body in tears, almost hyperventilating as he began shaking Natsu's limp form, before he turned his tearful gaze to Naruto. "How could you, you monster? He was my best friend, how could you kill him."

"Shush little Exceed, your friend is still alive, he's just unconscious. I may have given my lightning armour a little bit too much juice. Don't worry though, he will be up and on his feet again in a while, though he might be feeling a bit twitchy for a few hours." Naruto replied to Happy, his eyes crinkled in mirth at the little cat's reaction.

The little blue cat looked up at Naruto with teary eyes as he heard that, slightly confused over the name Exceed he was given, but mostly happy that his friend was ok. After which he proceeded to sit down next to Natsu's head, and slowly began patting the pink haired teen's cheek.

Right onto the next challenger, so who wants to face me next? Come on don't be shy!" Naruto said loudly, as he gave Natsu a slight glance, noting the boy's potential before he looked back to the rest of the crowd of mages. Allowing Macou and Wakaba to drag Natsu's unconscious body away as he did so.

 **( - )**

 **(Within the crowd of Fairy Tail Wizards)**

"Damn the matchstick never stood a chance, what a loser!" Gray muttered, embarrassed at witnessing his friend and rival's one sided fight against the blonde Guild Master.

Mirajane, who was standing next to Gray as he said this, frowned slightly at the comment, "Well I am not really that surprised. Master wouldn't have picked Naruto as a replacement if he wasn't strong enough. And as strong as Natsu is he isn't in the same league as Naruto who looks to be around S-class." She replied trying to defend Natsu from the harsh criticism from his rival.

Gray blinked twice at that before conceding. "Well I suppose when you say it like that it is kind of justified. Still put me up against him and I reckon I could take him, he is good with **'Lightning Magic'** yeah, but I've seen much more impressive stuff from Laxus!"

"Ha! Does that mean you're challenging him next Gray, like a real man!?" Elfman shouted exuberantly causing several of the Wizards around him to slowly inch away.

Gray scowled at that, and made to retort, before he could however he was cut off by Erza.

"No he will not be challenging him next. For I will!" Erza spoke up a determined look in her eyes as she glared at the figure of the blonde wannabe Guild Master, who was nonchalantly standing in the open space sending anyone who met his gaze a kind, yet challenging smile. As if daring them to try and fight him.

Erza's eyes flashing with irritation as she saw the irresponsible way he had thus far treated being Guild Master, such as these flashy and unnecessary challenges. She could not allow him to be Guild Master at least not until she had gotten a feel for him as a person, and from what she has seen so far she has been unimpressed, he was arrogant, rude, laid back and totally irresponsible.

With that in mind, Erza stepped forward into the arena like space and shouted her challenge out so all could hear. "I Erza Scarlet, an S-Class wizard of Fairy Tail challenge you Naruto Dreyar to a contest of strength and skill! What say you?!"

"Well for one Red, you're a bit overly dramatic and formal, this isn't a play. No, this is a fight. But anyway I accept your challenge girl, I had a feeling you would try it on with me!" Naruto responded his voice slightly raised as he shifted his gaze over to the armoured redhead, a smile making its way on to his face, as he took in the slight flush on Erza's face at being mocked so blatantly, and her growing scowl as her shock and embarrassment turned to anger.

"Prepare yourself!" Erza commanded sternly a she stood opposite Naruto in the informal arena, her armour gleaming in the midmorning sun.

Naruto nodded as he heard that, his smile fading as he saw the determination on her face. His eyes narrowing as he saw she was about to make her first move.

 **"REQUIP: LIGHTNING EMPRESS ARMOUR!"** Erza cried out suddenly, her body abruptly becoming covered in a golden glow.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the sight before him. The woman's previous silver armour having vanished in a flash of golden light, before it was replaced by a different set of armour. With her new outfit consisting of golden and light bluish armour.

The breastplate of her new armour was decorated with golden trimmings, and it had thin plates going up to surround Erza's neck. Attached to the breastplate were spiked pauldrons, also a gold and light blue colour. As well as that she was also wearing similarly coloured armoured gauntlets, greaves and knee guards. To finish off her assemble she had thigh-high boots with high heels and was also wielding a long spear, which had two spear heads that had a decorated circular wheel connecting the shaft with the spear heads.

All in all her appearance was now quite striking and fearsome, the armour accentuating her beauty and her curves far more than her previous armour had.

"Damn that was impressive. Though I have to say go for it Red, if you've got the goods you might as well flaunt it!" Naruto called out his gaze taking in her cleavage and lithe figure. Naruto appreciating a beautiful woman as much as the next man.

"This is my Lightning Empress Armour, whilst I am wearing this your **'Lightning Magic'** is all but nullified, so unless you have another trick up your sleeve you are in trouble!" The fearsome redhead called out, ignoring Naruto's comment, seeing it as the distraction it was as she instead raised her weapon. Her long spear becoming wreathed in lightning as she pointed the tip at Naruto's chest.

"From seeing how quickly you performed your Requip, Erza Scarlet, the Titania of Fairy Tail, I have to admit I'm impressed. Clearly the rumours I heard about you must bear at least some small measure of truth. But I'd be careful if I were you, over confidence can be your downfall, I wouldn't count me just yet." Naruto replied, as he met Erza's fierce gaze with a placid one of his own. His attention entirely focused on the battle as oppose to Erza's body, after all he wasn't some teenage child, Naruto had some semblance of restraint.

"Bring it!" she smirked.

Then it began, Erza starting off as she leapt at Naruto and brought her spear down upon him, the blade being trailed by lightning as she struck hard and fast.

But instead of trying to block, Naruto simply took a step back and then used his **'Lightning Magic'** to transform his body into pure lightning, before he shot off to the side in a flash of lightning. After that he then turned and raised his arms up, his hands making a two gun shapes as he drew on his magic, before unleashing a hail of bullets made of pure, and heavily condensed lightning at the redhead.

The action forcing Erza to jumped back from her previous position, her spear twirling in her hands as she started swiping and deflecting the lightning bullets away with her spear of lightning, charging it with electricity as she did so.

Deciding that he was not making progress that way, the blonde stopped his onslaught and leapt back, giving Erza a chance to be on the offensive again. The blonde Guild Master having done this to keep the fight moving and so he could see what else the Titania had. After all when it came to a battle between Wizards, information was almost as important as the spells you used. The more you knew about the person and their abilities, the quicker you could find a gap in their defences and defeat them.

In the end Naruto didn't have to wait long for Erza to once again go on the attack.

 **"** ** _LIGHTNING BEAM!"_** Erza shouted as she aimed her spear at the blonde, before she fired off a condensed blue beam of lightning directly at her opponent from the tip of her spear. Only for the blonde to cover his arm in his own lightning and bat the attack away, almost nonchalantly. Naruto's own control and mastery over his **'Lightning Magic'** , easily trumping Erza's **'Lightning Magic'**.

"It seems we're in a bit of a stalemate here Red, you're protected from my magic just as I am naturally strong against your attacks. So we are at an impasse!" Naruto called out to Erza hoping to provoke a response. "What're you going to do next?"

The response he received was Erza's spear disappearing and a new weapon being re-equipped into her hands.

The new weapon was a sword which was quite intricately designed with a multi-coloured purple and silver blade which was accompanied by two red diamond shaped gems, equally spread apart on the sword's blade. It was the sword that some of those watching recognised as the one she usually wielded with her Black Wing Armour, an armour that enhances a person's offensive capabilities.

Shooting forward again Erza leapt at Naruto once more bringing her new blade down upon him in a rapid slashing motion.

Naruto however instead of leaping away or blasting her with his **'Lightning Magic'** decided it was time to use another of the three magic's he had mastered, a type of magic that he had personally created and was totally unique to him.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did we all think, there was not a huge change from the original in this, just added detail, and a slight change to Naruto's character. Reading back through the original I hadn't like the gimmicky immaturity of him getting a nosebleed when he saw Erza. I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time.**

 **Either way I have made a few changes, and have split off the rest of the Erza fight for the next chapter. Also this allows me to get some suggestions. After all I have a firm idea of what I want Naruto's magic to be. But I'm not arrogant enough to think that there aren't other options that might fit better. Ones that I have not thought of. Which is why I am curious about what your suggestions might be?**

 **Oh and by the way I've decided to take the Shout Magic out of this version, as although I liked it at the time of the writing. I don't think it worked as well as I hoped. As I was aiming for more to be kind of like a Primordial Dragon Slayer magic. However the idea devolved and the idea I think didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. Still if I ever pick the original up again, I will try and work it so it does work. But that might be a while off.**

 **Either way thanks for reading and I hope you leave a review.**

 **See you later.**

 **Seagate.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hello everyone, as promised here is this week's chapter of An Old Man In A Young Man's Body V2.**

 **This chapter actually took me a while as there were bits of it I needed to play around with and expand. Still I am mostly happy with the end result, and I hope you all appreciate it to.**

 **Incidentally I also noticed that the story in the first four chapters has so far doubled in length when compared to the original.**

 **Other than that I hope you all enjoy the read and leave a comment or a review, thanks for reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"It seems we're in a bit of a stalemate here Red, you're protected from my magic just as I am naturally strong against your attacks. So we are at an impasse!" Naruto called out to Erza hoping to provoke a response. "What're you going to do next?"_

 _The response he received was Erza's spear disappearing and a new weapon being re-equipped into her hands._

 _The new weapon was a sword which was quite intricately designed with a multi-coloured purple and silver blade which was accompanied by two red diamond shaped gems, equally spread apart on the sword's blade. It was the sword that some of those watching recognised as the one she usually wielded with her Black Wing Armour, an armour that enhances a person's offensive capabilities._

 _Shooting forward again Erza leapt at Naruto once more bringing her new blade down upon him in a rapid slashing motion._

 _Naruto however instead of leaping away or blasting her with his_ _ **'Lightning Magic'**_ _decided it was time to use another of the three magic's he had mastered, a type of magic that he had personally created and was totally unique to him._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 4**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto)**

As Erza struck at him Naruto released the magic from his body, easily manipulating and moulding it as he did so. To the onlookers it looked as if four chainlike tendrils of purple magic had suddenly exploded from their Guild Master lower back. The four tendrils twisting and bind together as they appeared, to create a single one, much thicker than the others. Which as they watched, swiped through the air and struck the oncoming Erza full force in the side.

For those watching it looked like Erza had suddenly hit by a speeding freight train, the force of the blow swatting her from the air like an errant fly and slamming her into the ground. With the ground cracking beneath the Titania due to the force of strike which sent her there.

Letting out a gasp as she impacted on the ground, Erza felt she'd just been hit full force with a war hammer, the entire left side of her body having gone numb as her breath came out in gasps. The unexpectedness of the counterattack and the strength with which it had hit her, having knocked the air from her lungs.

Still though she was in a fight, and she knew she didn't have the time to wait around to fully regain her breath. Which is why with a grunt of exertion she pushed herself back to her feet, her side aching and her head ringing as she tried to piece together what had just happened. With everything having happened so fast, the last thing she could recall was charging at the smug blonde, her blade raised and ready to end the fight in a single blow.

After that though, all she could remember was a flash of purple light and a splitting pain in her side as she was struck in the flank and sent to the ground.

Scowling as she got back into a fighting stance, her blade held defensively in front of her. The red haired mage glared suspiciously at Naruto, noting as she did so the four tendrils of energy floating behind him like snakes about to strike, the chain like structures all looking like they protruded from his lower back.

Shifting her foot forward, Erza chanced a look down at her armour, noting as she did that her armour was badly scratched, with her left pauldron having a large crack running through it. The damage no doubt having been caused from a mixture of the blonde's last attack and the ground she smashed into afterwards.

Turning her head she took in the crowd of watching Wizards, all of whom were just staring at the fight in shock. Many of them muttering amongst each other as they tried to analyse their Guild Master's new magic.

Narrowing her eyes Erza did the same, noting that the length and thickness of the tendrils seemed to be consistent for now, and that they were made out of what must be pure magic. This told Erza that the Master's magic could be the manifestation and manipulation of magic in its purest form. Which even as she thought about it, seemed impossible, after all the amount of control and skill that would require, well it would be phenomenal.

"You still awake over there Red not too shaken up by the attack, I know how nasty it can be to be blindsided like that?" Naruto called out to Erza, a slight frown on his face as he noticed how she looked to be spacing out. His brow furrowing as he hoped she hadn't hit her head too hard. "Are you ok to continue or would you rather give up?".

In response to his question she sent him a glare, before she reequipped into a new set of armour. The action causing Naruto to grin slightly as the tendrils of magic protruding from his back solidified into chain like structures, each of which was tipped by a sharp point. This was his **'Energy Manipulation Magic'** , as he called it, a unique magic which worked through him expelling his vast and dense reserves from his body and manipulating its shape into anything he desired, be it armour, weapons, anything really. Though chains were the easiest and most effective form he found.

 **"REQUIP: ADAMANTINE ARMOUR!"** Erza shouted out in response, her body swiftly glowing golden as she did so. Her slightly battered Lightning Empress Armour disappearing, only to immediately be replaced by a new armour. With this one being very thick, bulky looking armour that was made of numerous layers of thick, studded, dark coloured armour, which covered her from head to toe. With her face being the only part of her body open to the air.

Unlike her previous armour, this one didn't look at all scandalous. Instead it looked powerful, intimidating, and all but impenetrable. Also, attached to the elbows of her armour were two large silver shields, each of which was shaped like a half circle. With each of these thick shields adding to the armour's defensive capabilities.

Upon seeing this Naruto couldn't help but smile as he took her new, highly armoured equipment as a challenge. His smile intensifying as he decided to test out its durability, after all it was only polite to take up a challenge when offered, and test out whether it is as strong as it looks.

"Alright then Red if you're sure you want to continue, I won't stop you, so I suppose you should prepare yourself!" Naruto finally said, guiding two of the tendrils of magic to wrap around his arms as he did so. The tendrils moving like snakes as they shifted around his arms, covering them in a purple coloured cloak, the tips of the tendrils covering his hands and forming into three inch long claws on each of his fingers.

Seeing this Erza narrowed her eyes, especially when she saw Naruto shift his feet, his arms shifting out to the side. Before without warning he shot forward, the earth beneath his feet cracking as he rapidly propelled himself towards her.

Upon seeing this, Erza decided to take his warning seriously this time, as she slammed her two arm shields together in front of her, preparing to ride out his first attack with her high defence so she could get a feel for his new magic, his speed, his strength and his fighting style. Which would hopefully help her in making strategies to combat him and his strange new form of magic.

After all when she had first stepped up to face him she had presumed he would use his **'Lightning Magic'** , and as such she had prepared for that. Now though, now the blonde had suddenly pulled some new magic out of his arse, which meant that she would need to adapt her own style to defeat him.

Within moments of her taking her defensive position Naruto was on her, a large smile on his face as he got in close. The razor sharp claws on one of his hands scraping along the shield with a screeching noise and a showers of sparks, even as the two chain like tendrils that still protruded from his back lashed out from either side, striking the shields head on. Each of the spear tipped tendrils gouging into the metal and latching on.

Erza widened her eyes as she saw this, having not expected for him to rush in so close. The red head having instead expected that he would continue fighting from a midrange distance. Not that this bothered her too unduly. As with a scowl and a moment's thought she dismissed her right hand shield and instead summoned the dark blade from her black wing armour. Leaping back and temporarily breaking away from Naruto as she did so.

This would mean she would be able to use her Adamantine Armour's full defensive capabilities, however it would allow her to balance her strong defensive capabilities with a powerful offensive weapon. The only downside however was the restrictions on her mobility such heavy armour gave her. Though going from what she had seen so far, she very much doubted she would be able to keep up with him even if she was wearing her Flight Armour, which was enchanted to increase her speed and mobility.

No from what she had seen Naruto was a Wizard who specialised in fast devastating attacks, which of course meant that a possible weakness of his could be prolonged battles. Either way Erza was content for now to stick with her current weapon and armour. Which was why upon summoning her sword she lunged forward, batting aside Naruto's claws and magic chain with her remaining shield before moving in for a swift stab to the gut.

Which Naruto dodged as he ducked low and around the swing, only for his eyes to widen as the blade came back, the air hissing as Erza proceeded to lash out with her blade. Slashing and jabbing at Naruto, bulling her way forwards as she attempted to keep him off-guard. The redhead using both the weight and strength of her armour as well as her skill with a blade to try and drive Naruto back. Her style taking on that of a juggernaut, messy, powerful, rough but also pretty effective.

Seeing this Naruto smirked as he slammed his magic chains into the ground, lifting him off the dusty floor and allowing him to dodge her strike. Before he fell back to earth, landing a spin kick to Erza's raised shield as he did, one of his chains binding round his leg and allowing him to release three times as much force from the kick, as the blow knocked her clear off her feet.

Landing back on the ground, he then proceeded to lunge forwards and bull into Erza as she fell. His claws shredding her shield and her armour as he released a dizzying number of strikes. His form blurring as he duel wielded his **'Lightning Magic'** and his **'Energy Manipulation Magic'** , using the lightning to enhance his reflexes and strengthen his body, even as he electrified his claws and chains, increasing their penetrative power. Which was why they were so easily able to tear through Erza's incredibly durable armour.

Leaping up Naruto followed this with another kick to the chest, his blow sending Erza sprawling backward her armour now in scraps, with even more pieces of it falling away from the force of Naruto's blow.

Upon seeing this Naruto shot forwards again, his body almost blurring as electricity crackled off of it. Before in a blink of an eye he appeared behind Erza's his right hand extended as the cloak of purple energy on his right arm coalesced into rapidly spinning ball of highly condensed magical lightning. A pseudo Rasengan, which Naruto proceeded to slam into Erza's back, holding it for a few seconds before stopping as a now barely conscious Erza collapsed onto the ground a couple of feet away, her body smoking and indiscriminately twitching from the remnants of lightning running through it.

"Damn Red I think I might have just gone overboard!" Naruto said guiltily as he drew his magic back into him, leaving him looking exactly the same as before, as he looked down at the battered looking Erza.

"I think I might've gotten a bit too into the fight and forgot to hold back. So yeah, sorry about that, I've just always loved testing myself against people's ultimate defences, ever since I was a kid." Naruto continued as he approached the downed Erza, a sheepish expression on his face as he ignored the shocked muttering of the crowd and instead focused on the powerful S-Class Wizard.

The girl had put up a good fight, especially considering her lack of experience compared to Naruto and her lack of knowledge about his capabilities. It was something that she should get used to though as an S-Class mage, after all there were many powerful Wizards out there in the wide world. But still she had put up an admirable fight.

Letting out a pained groan, Erza barely heard the blonde's words as she struggled to push herself up, her body still twitching from Naruto's lightning based attacks. Her previously magnificent armour now looked ragged, with great rents having been torn into it exposing her skin to the air. Her shield had also be cloven in half, and her helmet was cracked and lying a few feet away.

A small trail of blood ran down one side of her face, likely caused by a jagged piece of metal from her armour which had hit her forehead. All in all she was a mess, she had been on the defensive ever since the blonde had stopped holding back as much as he had before. The Guild Master having not given her enough time to strategize or think of a way to counter his overwhelmingly fast attacks.

On top of which there was his magic, the sheer versatility of which seemed to be astounding. After all Erza had no doubt that the blonde could manipulate his magic to take on any form, similar almost to **'Maker Magic'** like the one Gray used. In fact the versatility of his magic had been one of the main problems. She had not been able to get a good idea of what he would do next, or what trick he might pull. Instead by the end she had just been constantly defending herself from his onslaught.

Drawing on her dwindling reserves of magic Erza pushed herself up, ignoring the aching feeling that had enveloped her body as she instead tiredly prepared to requip into a new armour.

After a few moments she finally made it to her feet, blood continuing to run down her face and inhibit her vision. Still though she wasn't going to give up, after all she liked a challenge as much as the blonde, and Naruto now embodied that challenge. She wasn't just going to meekly surrender and ask for mercy, no, if she was to go down, she'd go down fighting!

Or at least that was what she thought as she stood up and faced Naruto, her mouth clenched and her eyes flashing. Unfortunately though, before she was able to requip into a new armour, the blonde flashed forward in a bolt of lightning and crack of thunder.

After which he appeared directly in front of her, where he proceeded to deliver a brutal lightning infused sucker punch straight to her stomach, breaking her armour even more and forcing the air out of her lungs. Causing her, in her already battered state, to finally succumb to unconsciousness.

"Sorry Red if we were to continue you would only get more hurt, better to call it a day here and now, you can give it another go later." Naruto muttered fondly to Erza as he caught her unconscious body in his arms, holding her carefully as he stopped the unconscious teen from crashing to the ground and hurting herself.

With that done, he proceeded to turn to the watching crowd, who, as he turned to them, the now peacefully looking Erza in his arms, burst out into a cacophony of shouts, cheers and exclamations of shock and awe. The excitement spreading through them now that they knew Erza was alright.

"So!" Naruto continued cheerfully, heaving Erza's limp body over his right shoulder as he made his way to where the white, haired barmaid she had stood with earlier was, a smile on his face as he prepared to carefully pass the unconscious redhead over. "Who is the next one who wants to challenge me!?"

 **( - )**

 **(With Laxus)**

"LAXUS! LAXUS!"

"Huh?" Laxus grunted, his brow furrowing as he glanced around for the source of the voice, taking his eyes off of the fallen Erza and his Uncle as he did so.

The blonde's frown intensifying as looked in the direction of the familiar voice that called out to him, one which was distracting him from his analysis of Naruto's fighting style.

Fully turning in the direction of the voice, Laxus folded his arms in front of him as he looked down at his friend, who seemed to freeze as he saw the harsh look in Laxus's blue eyes.

Freed Justine was a skinny man of average height who looked to be in either his late teens to early twenties. He had light coloured skin and long green coloured hair which extended all the way down to his waist, with part of his long hair having been parted to the side so that it completely covered his right eye. With his left emerald green eye being the only one visible.

Currently Freed was wearing a frilly white button up shirt and an elegant double-breasted red coat that almost reached down to his knees, with the coat possessing a wide collar and large cuffs. Also around his waist he had a sheathed rapier belted to his left hip.

"Laxus, you've been quiet for a while, are you alright?" Freed asked nervously, a concerned look on his face as he saw the way his friend was acting. It was the same angry, borderline aggressive way he had been acting ever since Master Makarov had chosen his Uncle Naruto as Guild Master over him. Which for Freed as one of Laxus's closest friends, made things difficult.

"Does it have to do with the fight we just saw?" A soft feminine voice added on, gaining Laxus's attention as he glanced away from Freed and instead over to the lone female member of his Thunder Legion, Laxus's own personal, self-proclaimed bodyguard squad/ team, Evergreen.

Evergreen was pretty woman, who like Freed looked to be in her early twenties/ late teens, with long, curly, light brown hair currently tied up in a ponytail and dark brown eyes. Currently she was wearing oval glasses and a tight, green dress with fairy wings on the back of it, which did a good job of showing off her rather sizeable chest.

Seeing she had gotten Laxus's attention, Evergreen sent him a coy smile as she began fanning herself with a feathered, purple fan with three hearts on it. Her gaze flicking over the scowling Freed as she did so, before she focused back on Laxus.

"No, Evergreen." Laxus replied stiffly, as he looked Evergreen up and down, before dismissing her as he instead turned to look back at the clearing in which his Uncle was standing, the other blonde having just handed the unconscious Titania over to Mirajane.

"Really I thought it was pretty mad! I mean damn man, I thought Erza was going to crush that Naruto guy, but instead, it was like the other way around, that's like crazy! Still though, do you reckon you're gonna still fight him Laxus?" Bickslow, the last of the Thunder Legion, asked excitedly, a large grin on his face as he shifted around, barely able to stay still after the fight he had just seen.

Bickslow, who was around the same age as the others, was a tall man with an athletic build and broad shoulders. Currently he was wearing a studded, black hooded jacket and had the upper part of his face was covered by a metal, grill like visor, which had eight small slits running down it, which allowed him to see. To complement this he also wore large armbands which had thick shoulder pads, each of which had skulls at its centre. To complement the rest of his outfit, he also wore baggy black pants and armoured boots.

If possible though, the strangest thing about the grinning man, was the three cylindrical wooded dolls with faces on them, all of which were currently floating around him.

"Yeah, you going to fight him, you going to fight him!" Bickslow's three floating dolls, the source of man's mystic might when in battle, chorused in reedy high pitched voices.

In response, Laxus merely shot his three friends/ subordinates a glare before snarling, "Of course I'm going to fight him, after Scarlett's pathetic display I need to! Otherwise Fairy Tail will look weak!"

His three friends backed off a bit as they heard that, and saw the borderline malevolent expression on Laxus's face.

Not that Laxus cared, after all the only thing that consumed him at the moment was anger. Anger at his Grandfather for so nonchalantly handing off his position, snubbing Laxus as he did so, and at his Uncle, who had once again just waltzed back into his life, only to steal Laxus's dream.

"And after I beat down my loser Uncle, I'll then take over as Fairy Tail's Guild Master, and then I'll take this Guild in the direction it needs to go!" Laxus continued, lightning beginning to crackle around his body, as he unconsciously released some of his magic in his anger.

Not even waiting for a response to his statement, Laxus instead jumped down from where he was previously perched, on one of the buildings overlooking the makeshift fighting ring that his Uncle was using. A fierce look on his face as he jumped down to meet Naruto's challenge, and prove to the rest of the Guild who the true Master of Fairy Tail should be.

 **( - )**

 **(In the crowd of Fairy Tail Wizards, a few minutes early)**

"What the hell? How is that even possible?" Gray muttered in shock, an intense look on his face as he stared over at the unconscious and battered figure of Erza, as the blonde handed her over to Mira. The redhead having been a constant figure of strength, power and control in Gray's life, ever since he had been a little kid. Which made seeing her brought down all the more shocking.

"That was an amazing fight! I can't believe Erza lost though, I mean that Naruto is a lot tougher than I thought he was, you can tell he is a Dreyar!" Macou spoke up, a grin on his face as he, along with the rest of the crowd cheered and applauded a good fight, for what it was, a good fight.

As this was happening money also began changing hands as some people cashed in on their bets. Whilst other refilled their drinks, the ale flowing freely now as the crowd got more and more rowdy. After all for some in the crowd this had been one of the best fights they had seen in a while, as not only had they witnessed a whole new magic, but they had also seen the previously untouchable Erza get defeated.

"What a freaking man!" Elfman roared, fist pumping the air in his enthusiasm as he felt himself getting pumped up. "I could barely see him by the end, that beat down was so manly it was insane!"

"Hush Elfman, Erza could have been really hurt if Naruto wasn't careful!" Mira cut in, a slight frown on her face as she sent Naruto a disapproving look. Not at all impressed with how far he had taken the fight, especially when it was against a fellow member of his Guild.

"Yeah I know, I got a little over excited. Still though I was careful enough not to do any permanent damage. It's more exhaustion than anything. So just give her a few minutes, and she'll probably regain consciousness, hopefully in time to watch the next and final fight." Naruto replied confidently, a comforting smile on his face as he met the attractive bar maid's gaze.

Mira's frowned eased slightly as she heard that, though it didn't entirely fade as she instead took Erza off of him. Her frown only disappearing after she gave her friend a quick scan.

Noting as she did so, like Naruto had claimed, that Erza was just a bit battered and cut up. With the redhead having no serious injuries from the fight, her armour having protected her from most of the damage. Though Mira could also admit that Naruto's skill probably had something to do with that too, as from looking at the state of Erza's armour, Mira could just imagine what damage he could do if he'd wanted to.

"I'll take her inside with Natsu, so I can make sure neither of them have any internal injuries. Though next time do try and be careful Master, they are members of your Guild after all, not enemies or Dark Wizards." Mira replied her tone still holding a slight note of disapproval, as she gave Naruto one last look. Before she recruited the help of Jet and Droy, two of Fairy Tail less well known Wizards, to help her take the battered looking Erza inside.

"Ok Erza's been defeated, who do you folks think the next challenger will be?! Place your bets now! Who do you think is brave or stupid enough to take on our arse kicking Master next?!" Cana Alberona, an attractive brunette who was wearing only a blue bikini top and three quarter length pants, shouted to the crowd as she took a swig from a tankard of ale she was holding before continuing to spur the crowd into making bets on the outcome of the next fight.

Before she could take a single bet though, she was distracted. As with a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder, a new figure appeared in the middle of the makeshift arena, a tall, blond haired figure wearing a leopard print button up shirt.

Seeing this the crowd all quietened down, especially as they saw the new entrant, Laxus, facing off with Naruto. The similarity between the two's appearance once again causing a bit of confusion. After all they could almost pass as brothers, with Laxus being the older, bigger brother and Naruto being the smaller, younger one.

For Macou though, seeing the two together caused his eyes to widen as he finally placed where he knew Naruto from, something that had been nagging at him ever since he had first seen him. After all he had met Naruto before when Macou had been a much younger man. In fact the last time he had properly seen the guy, he had been sitting at Fairy Tail's bar, a very young Laxus sitting on his knee as he told him stories.

"There is no need for bets Cana! No because I challenge this pathetic wannabe to a fight!" Laxus shouted out, his voice echoing around the clearing and causing a tense silence as Naruto turned to look at him. "I deserve to be Master, not him, me Laxus Dreyar, the strongest wizard of Fairy Tail not you Uncle! I don't know what gutter the old man scraped you from, but you know longer have a place at this Guild, certainly not as its Master! So come on gutter trash, are you brave enough to face me?! Well are you?!"

Nobody said anything as Laxus finished his ranted, many in the crowd looking at Naruto in confusion, after they heard Laxus describe him as his Uncle. Others however were a bit fearful, after all they had seen Naruto just beat down two of Fairy Tail's stronger mages, and were scared of what a conflict between two such powerful Wizards would be like.

"Ha, prepare Master, prepare to face the might of Laxus!" Freed shouted, oblivious to the shock Laxus's words had caused, as himself and the rest of the Thunder Legion appeared at the edge of the crowd and cheered Laxus on.

"Very well boy, I'll take you up on your challenge. Who knows it may be fun humbling you a bit, and deflating that overinflated ego of yours." Naruto replied stiffly, a look of slight disappointment in his gaze as he saw the man that his great-grandson had become.

"I will make you eat those words you vain old relic, right after I take the position of Guild Master from you!" Laxus snarled with barely contained rage, lightning once again crackling off of his body as he released his magic in his anger.

' _What happened to you Laxus, to make you so angry, so volatile? I know you're not all bad but you need to learn, you need to learn that strength and power isn't everything."_ Naruto thought sadly as he looked at the rage on Laxus's face.

 **( - )**

 **(A few minutes later)**

There was utter silence as the two spiky haired blonde's stood facing off against one another. The both them outwardly looking so similar, however the way they acted was incredibly different. With Naruto standing casually, his hands in his pocket and a calm look on his face. Whilst Laxus on the other hand was glaring at Naruto with barely contained fury, his hands clenched into tight fists at his side and his body coated with lightning.

Just as the tension was reaching an intolerable level, Naruto let out a slight sigh before shouting out, "Begin!"

That was it, as soon as the word 'begin' left Naruto's mouth Laxus leapt into action. A snarl on his face as he shot towards the seemingly unprepared Naruto.

In response however, Naruto took his hands out of his pockets, his blue eyes flashing up to see Laxus rearing back a fist coated in yellow **'Lightning Magic'**. Upon seeing this, Naruto merely smiled at Laxus's straight forward attack, as he rapidly brought his forearm up in a guard position, channelling magic into it to strengthen his muscles and bones as he did so, a slight crackle of lightning running along his arm in response.

With a crashing sound Laxus landed his punch and sent Naruto flying backwards, static running over his body as he flew back. With Naruto leaning back and rolling with the momentum the force the attack caused. Agilely flipping around as he flew back, easily landing on his feet a couple of metres away looking completely unruffled. Before with a shrug of his shoulders he shook of the static electricity running through his body, causing an explosion of dust and rock to erupt from his feet as he did so. Covering half of the arena in an expanding cloud of dust.

Outside this dust cloud, Laxus used his **'Lightning Magic'** to turn his body into pure lightning, before he flashed away from the spreading dust cloud via one of his lightning bolts. He had learned enough from the watching the previous two fights to know that letting his guard down around Naruto was a sure way to lose.

"So, is this all that Fairy Tail's mighty Fourth Master can do? I mean are you serious? Because you might as well just give me the title now and save yourself the pain and humiliation!" Laxus shouted at the cloud of dust, trying to provoke the blonde into making a mistake as he did so.

Instead of a witty response however, all Laxus heard was a dull crack of thunder. Before, within the span of a few seconds, Naruto appeared mid-punch in front of Laxus with a flash of golden light and a crackle of lightning. His eyes flashing dangerously as he drove his fist straight into Laxus gut, catching the other blonde completely by surprise.

"CRUNCH"

Was the devastating noise many in the crowd heard as Naruto unloaded a full powered into Laxus's gut, before he followed through with the punch and sent Laxus flying back at least twenty metres away, his body gaining air as he flew backwards before crashing into ground, creating another large cloud of dust and rock, and a small crater as he did so.

The watching crowd was silent as they saw the aftermath of the devastating attack.

Naruto meanwhile was holding a clearly broken wrist out in front of him, watching dispassionately as the broken bones in his arm visibly pulled themselves back together rapidly healing as they did so, the torn up skin on his wrist following suit as within a span of about fifteen seconds his wrist fixed itself. With the only evidence that there was any injury at all being the red smear of blood on his wrist and the cuff of his coat.

Suffice to say his attack then little healing act had the members of Fairy Tail all muttering to each other about just what limits he actually had, and the full capabilities of his magic. As for Laxus well.

"Bleargh!"

A retching sound was heard, which was followed by the sound of something wet splattering onto the ground. The source of which could be seen as the dust cloud cleared, and Laxus could be seen hunched over gasping as he wiped his mouth, a small pool of brown, frothy liquid on the floor in front of him, and a queasy look on his face.

"Well that was disgusting." Naruto chuckled dryly as he shook his wrist slightly trying to get some feeling back into it, quite pleased with himself over the little humbling he gave Laxus. Though also somewhat surprised by his great-grandson's durability, after all it wasn't often that Naruto broke his bones.

In response to Naruto's dry comment, Laxus let out a scream of fury. Before he threw all caution to the wind, bolts of electrical energy exploding from Laxus as he lashed out at Naruto in anger, shooting forwards coated in lightning swinging his fist wildly as he went. Only to engage Naruto in close combat as he unleashed a flurry of rapid punches and jabs, his body now entirely enshrouded in lightning.

Leaping backwards, Naruto narrowed his eyes as he dodged and weaved through Laxus's swift and powerful attacks, waiting for a gap to exploit. Which he soon found as he shot forwards, his arm surrounded by lightning as he nailed another of what he liked to call his 'thunder punches' straight into Laxus's gut again. The blow sending Laxus flying backwards through the air, with enough force to make him fall to the floor and start retching again.

Naruto sighed as he again waited for Laxus to stop retching. A slight twinkle in his blue eyes as he saw the death glare Laxus was sending him.

"Oh come on it is not like it is my fault you have such a weak stomach Laxus." Naruto said, rolling his eyes as he did so.

Laxus's eyes once again flashed in rage as he heard that, his breaths coming out deep and ragged as he pushed himself to his feet, a vicious snarl on his face.

Upon seeing this Naruto decided that it maybe for the best if he started fighting properly and stopped flat out humiliating his great-grandson, as fun as it was. After all if he continued absolutely humiliating Laxus like this he would hardly endear himself to the rest of the Guild. Plus it would likely irrevocably damage his already poor relationship with Laxus, even if he was only doing it to knock some humility into the boy.

Not that Laxus seemed to realise this though. That being said as he faced off against Naruto, he seemed to be forcefully trying to calm himself down, despite him wanting to clearly beat the daylights out of Naruto. With that said Laxus let out a loud breath before locking eyes with Naruto. "Have you had your fun or are you ready to fight properly? If you don't start taking this seriously Uncle, I might have to hurt you!"

"Really, you think that is what's going to happen?" Naruto replied, laughing a bit at his bluster, as he gave him an amused smile. "Alright then, enough fun let's get this fight going, don't hold back though. The only way you will be able to beat me is if you come at me with the intent to kill!"

That statement certainly got a response if the look of shock on Laxus's and the rest of the Guild's faces had anything to say. Several including Mira and Gray began muttering about how intense he seemed to be, and whether he was actually serious. And one guy shouting how manly he was, no points for guessing who that was.

Macou and Wakaba however were a lot more cautious, as after a brief talk, they now recognised Naruto as the powerful young Wizard who'd been a member of Fairy Tail when they themselves had been teenagers. Even if he looked a lot younger than he should, though that of course might be due to him being vain and using **'Transformation Magic'**. Still though they remembered enough about him to know that he wasn't the kind of person you fucked with.

Narrowing his eyes as he heard that, Laxus focused cautiously on Naruto as he growled. "What you expect me to try and kill you, are you insane? Or do you just have a death wish!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Please, you have as much chance of killing me as well, I don't know just imagine I said something witty!"

Laxus growled as he heard the other blonde man's nonchalance, and the insult that was him disregarding Laxus as even a threat to him.

Soon enough though his anger faded as he instead smirked, a wicked gleam appearing in his eye as he stared down at his Uncle. "So... that would mean then if I killed you, that I will be the next undisputed Guild Master."

Lowering his centre of gravity as he got into a fighting stance, Naruto merely smirked at Laxus before saying. "You have to kill me first 'honourable grandson'?"

Realistically though Naruto doubted Laxus had any intention of doing him serious harm, even if he was truly pissed off. After all Naruto had gotten a pretty good impression of the man, enough to know that beneath the bluster and ego there as a decent man, one who cared about the Guild and his family. Or at least that was what Naruto was able to glean from him.

Laxus simply chuckled at Naruto's response, before his body was once again coated in lightning, the magical power he was emitting having become so thick around him, that it actually caused several of the weaker Guild Members to start shaking and falling to their knees.

Focusing on Laxus's lightshow, Naruto prepared himself for whatever attack Laxus's was building up for.

"Are you ready Uncle, because you need to be?!" Laxus snarled out as he locked eyes with Naruto.

In response Naruto's eyes widened slightly as for the first time in the fight he lost track of Laxus. The S-Class Wizard having must of used all the **'Lightning Magic'** he had just gathered and channelled it into his limbs, making him stronger, faster and more durable as he did so.

" ** _Lightning Magic: Lightning Rush"_**

As he heard Laxus's shout Naruto quickly scanned the area looking for his opponent, his eyes narrowing as he did so. Before he heard a sudden crash of lightning behind him, and felt a powerful elbow smash into the back of his head. The blow making him fly head first into the ground consequently shattering it and digging up a large furrow of earth as he landed.

Standing up and shaking his head slightly, Naruto looked back over at the now laughing Laxus. He had moved so fast that Naruto hadn't seen him, now that was genuinely impressive. Though Naruto had no doubts that he could have tracked Laxus if he too had reinforced himself with lightning.

Standing up straight, the blonde pushed aside his slight pain, as he instead let out an audible and clearly disappointed sigh. "Well don't get me wrong you were fast, pity your attack was not quite strong enough. You need both strength and speed if you want to take me out kid."

The jab cut Laxus's laughter short and the man glared over dangerously. "You really want to try me Uncle, because if you're not careful I will show you how strong I am?"

Naruto held his arms out wide. "Do your worst boy! If you ask me though, you're all bark and no bite!"

Gritting his teeth in annoyance as he heard that, Laxus began to channel magic through his body, lightning once again beginning to crackle around him.

"Arrogance comes before the fall." Naruto muttered to himself quietly as he observed the yellow lightning crackling over Laxus's body as he gathered his magic for his attack.

 _'I think it's time to finish this'_ Naruto thought as he shifted his feet, getting into a ready stance for the first time in the match. Pushing the magic out of his body as he did so, four chain like tendrils of magic erupting from his lower back in response. As this was happening though his previously blue eyes bled purple, as flecks of crimson red appeared in his irises before merging with his normal blue colour.

Laxus smirked smugly as he saw this, not at all concerned by the chains of magic, instead seeing Naruto's actions as a challenge. In response to which Laxus quickly gathered his magic before unleashed his next attack **"** ** _Lightning Magic: Lightning Punch_** **!"** With that he charged forward his fist enveloped in a large and dense orb of lightning as he shot towards Naruto at incredible speeds.

Laxus's smirk turning victorious as he noticed his opponent not moving, no doubt the foolish blonde trusted in his strange magic to protect him, not that it would do him any good. Which is why Laxus charged more magic into his punch, hoping to finally put the blonde in his place.

Naruto though didn't even bat an eye at the speeds in which Laxus was now travelling, having become accustom to his lightning enhanced speed now. Instead he crouched a bit lower, his eyes flashing dangerously as the chain like tendrils rose above his head and began crackling with lightning.

"You should just give up kid." Naruto said as he saw Laxus closing in on him, before without another sound he lashed out with his chains, smashing Laxus into the ground with one of them, stopping him mid-strike. After which Naruto followed this up by lashing his chains around Laxus's legs before he swung him up and smashed him into the ground again.

"Because no matter what you try, you aren't quite in my league, not yet at least." Naruto continued cheerfully as he used his chains to constrict Laxus's body, the true nature of his purple chains becoming apparent to Laxus as he felt them starting to slowly leech away his magic.

The audience looked on in pin drop silence as they again witnessed their new Guild Master take Laxus down, despite him being a powerful S-class mage of Fairy Tail and one of the strongest members of the Guild.

However before they could say anything, Laxus once again showed he wasn't an S-Class mage for no reason. As with a growl he released a blast of magic, loosening Naruto's chains enough for him to turn his body into pure lightning and flash away, out of reach of Naruto's magical chains.

"How…" Laxus growled as he glared at Naruto, his gaze on the chains, which seemed to grow razor sharp barbs along their length as he watched. "How the hell are you doing this! I am the strongest in the Guild not you, not Gildarts, ME!"

The slight smile Naruto sent him as he heard that was too much for Laxus, as he finally lost it, his already frayed patience snapping as he slammed his right foot on the ground and thrust his lightning enshrouded arms at Naruto, this time keeping a wary eye on the hovering chains.

 ** _"Lightning Magic: Thunder Wave!"_** This attack resulted in a wave of fast moving bolts of lightning, which exploded from Laxus's hands and at Naruto, each bolt speeding through the air at high speeds. The bolts all causing electrical explosions as they connected with Naruto's form, creating another dust cloud.

"Finally, just stay down!" Laxus growled tiredly as he stepped back, quite winded from his last attack.

As the dust cloud dispersed though, Laxus and the rest of the crowd saw that Naruto was untouched. His chains having thickened and formed a dome like shield of swirling purple energy around him, one which protected him from the brunt of Laxus's onslaught.

Smirking as he saw Laxus's wide eyes, Naruto shot forwards, once again closing in on Laxus as he closed the distance. His chains lashing out and forcing Laxus to back away, the other blonde struggling to fend off Naruto's lightning covered fists and chains as he went completely on the defensive.

Sweat trickling down his fore head as he had to go all out just to fending off his Uncle's assault, more concerned about the force of Naruto's attacks than the lightning, which had no effect upon him. With Laxus only occasionally being able to throw an attack back, be it either a kick or a punch, not that Naruto had any trouble in blocking his attempts with either his arms or his chains.

Seeing this the cheering audience now knew that Laxus didn't stand a chance against the blonde as every attack he threw at him he blocked as if they were nothing, before responding with a devastating strike which nearly broke through Laxus's guard.

Laxus groaned as he felt his muscles crying out in agony as he stumbled backwards. He was starting to understand that he had underestimated his opponent's power significantly. Nothing he did seemed to be able to get through Naruto's defences, and it took everything he had to block Naruto's counterattacks.

Shaking his head and forcing magic into his aching limbs, Laxus once again prepared to either attack or defend. He wasn't about to give up or throw in the towel though, even if he knew he was outclassed, after all this was his best chance at becoming Guild Master just like he had always wanted. He wasn't about to give up on reaching his dream, even if it meant pushing himself beyond his limits to do so.

With that thought in mind, the lightning user channelled as much lightning as he could around his body, going for broke this time.

"This is it" Laxus said with a gasp of pain, before he charged at the blonde Guild Master as fast as he could, "Just go down!" He continued as he channelled even more of his magic into his last attack. Hoping to overwhelm Naruto's defences in one overwhelming assault.

Hearing a loud rush of energy, Naruto took a step back and focused on the Laxus's lightning wreathed form before him. Frowning as he noticed a large amount of electricity forming in Laxus's raised hands.

Just watching he could tell that Laxus was putting his everything into this spell, and whatever it was that was coming, Naruto knew that upon completion it would be massive.

A few moments later Laxus let out a bellow of effort as he hurled his attack straight at his Uncle, his eyes taking on a golden glow as he infused as much of his magic as he could into this last attack.

Taking a single step back Naruto's eyes widened as he felt the power flying off the massive, compressed lightning bolt Laxus had formed. From one Lightning Wizard to another, he would happily admit to being impressed. Laxus it seems had inherited the same massive energy reserves that Naruto and Makarov both had.

Gritting his teeth Naruto absorbed the chains back into him, before he released magic from every pore of his body, enshrouding himself in a thick purple armour. Naruto's eyes glowing purple as he raised his head to look at Laxus, the glowing energy around his head having taken on an almost vulpine appearance.

At the exact same time Laxus hurled his attack straight at Naruto, his hands thrust out before him, **_"Heavenward Halberd!"_**

With a massive shout of effort Laxus then proceeded to hurl a large and massively compressed trident of lightning directly at Naruto as hard as he could. His eyes glowing golden as he saw the crackling golden trident tear through the air and strike Naruto's armoured form. The magic attack moving so fast that it had struck Naruto before he could fully dodge or avoid it.

A vast explosion went off a split second later and Naruto was quickly swallowed within a massive bright light, the ground all around him shattering as a massive wave of power was released from the impact, the wave of power going so far as to throw more than a few of the watching Guild Members off of their feet.

Laughing desperately, Laxus's eyes were slightly glazed as he watched the spectacle. "H-ha, I can't b-believe you were actually stupid enough to take my Heavenward Halberd head on? You don't deserve to be Guild Master I do!"

Lightning flashed and crackled around the area Naruto had previously stood, where once there was a flat if a bit damaged piece of land there was now a smoking crater. Laxus's hysterical laughter however was only short lived as the smoke cleared, revealing Naruto stood in the middle of a now sizeable hole in the ground. His body was wreathed in his purple magic, the armour looking a bit ragged but otherwise undamaged.

Raising his head, the blond looked up at Laxus, a smile on his face. The glowing purple armour dissipated revealing a totally unharmed Naruto as he did so.

"Sorry Laxus, that last attack was powerful, but at the level you are now, you can't beat me." Naruto said, a kind smile on his face as he looked over at the sickly looking Laxus. A part of Naruto genuinely impressed with the strength of that last spell, and at how intense it had been.

"Wha-" Laxus began.

He wasn't given a chance to finish his question though, as Naruto took that moment to flash in front of him in a bolt of lightning before he delivered a thunderous, lightning powered kick to the side of his head.

Flinging Laxus backwards in a spiralling blast, his head ringing from the strike, and darkness tugging at his vision. That wasn't the end of it though as Naruto managed to get behind him in another flash of lightning and this time he delivered a solid blow with an elbow into Laxus's already abused gut.

Gasping as he felt this Laxus crashed into the ground with a loud groan. He was battered and exhausted both physically and magically. This was it. He knew he couldn't carry on, not with his reserves as low as they were or his body as numb as it was. No, he wasn't strong enough, not yet. Which is why a few moments later Laxus finally collapsed into unconsciousness.

 **( - )**

"H-how did he do that, how can he be so strong!" Gray gasped out in shock as he took in the sight of the fallen Laxus before him. Defeating Erza was one thing, but Laxus, he was one of the strongest in the Guild.

"Laxus tried but there is always someone better than you, and Laxus has finally met his match. Hopefully he will learn from this and become a better Wizard and a better person." Mira replied softly to Gray, a sad smile on her face as she looked over at the fallen Laxus.

"And we have a final result, the undisputed Master Naruto destroying the competition!" Cana shouted to the now excitedly talking crowd, "Those who bet on him to win collect your winnings and those who fucked up and lost, pay up bitches!"

Similar sort of conversations were happening all through the crowd as they looked to the victorious Naruto, all of them now fully respecting both his power and his right to be Master, even if it was only temporary.

"Alright people go about with your daily life or whatever, shows over." Naruto shouted as he walked through the watching crowd in the direction of the Guild Building. "Oh and Elfman, be a good chap and grab Laxus will you, and take him to the Guild Infirmary."

Elfman grunted in response to that, a big grin on his face as he looked down at the shorter Naruto, before he turned towards the unconscious Laxus with the intention of pick him up as he was directed. With the members of the Thunder Legion, all of whom looked to be in varying levels of shock following behind him.

"Thank the gods that shits over, I need a damn drink!" Naruto muttered as he pushed his way through the crowd and towards the Guild building.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think? I hope you liked it.**

 **For Naruto's new magic I decided to give him an ability based off of a combination of similar abilities chakra chains (Naruto), Carnage's abilities (Marvel), Ken Kaneki's abilities (Tokyo Ghoul). The back story behind his abilities will become clear as the story progresses. Either way I quite like this magic as there is a lot that can be done with it, plus it can be combined with other types of magic. Which is where the Shout Magic fell down, as by the end Naruto was kind of just spamming shouts. Either way I think this new magic has a lot of potential, and has definite links back to the Narutoverse and Naruto's Uzumaki heritage.**

 **But anyway would love to hear other people's opinions.**

 **Please leave a review.**

 **See you next time.**

 **Seagate.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: So here is the next chapter or the rewrite. Just a clean up really of the existing chapter, even so it took me a while to get round to it as I've been really busy recently.**

 **Anyway though I managed to sort it out and get it out.**

 **Hope you all enjoy the chapter and leave a comment or a review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Naruto.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"And we have a final result, the undisputed Master Naruto destroying the competition!" Cana shouted to the now excitedly talking crowd, "Those who bet on him to win collect your winnings and those who fucked up and lost, pay up bitches!"_

 _Similar sort of conversations were happening all through the crowd as they looked to the victorious Naruto, all of them now fully respecting both his power and his right to be Master, even if it was only temporary._

 _"Alright people go about with your daily life or whatever, shows over." Naruto shouted as he walked through the watching crowd in the direction of the Guild Building. "Oh and Elfman, be a good chap and grab Laxus will you, and take him to the Guild Infirmary."_

 _Elfman grunted in response to that, a big grin on his face as he looked down at the shorter Naruto, before he turned towards the unconscious Laxus with the intention of pick him up as he was directed. With the members of the Thunder Legion, all of whom looked to be in varying levels of shock following behind him._

 _"Thank the gods that shits over, I need a damn drink!" Naruto muttered as he pushed his way through the crowd and towards the Guild building._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 5**

 **( - )**

 **(In Magnolia, sometime later)**

Lucy Heartfilia was feeling a mixture of emotions as she ran through the busy and bustling town of Magnolia, following after the loud spiky pink haired Dragon Slayer, Natsu. A teen around her own age, who she had met only the other day in port town of Hargeon.

Lucy was an attractive girl in her late teens, with hazel coloured brown eyes and long golden blonde hair which reached to her lower back, though at the moment it was partially tied in a small ponytail to the right side of her head, with the rest of the rest of her hair loose.

The most noticeable thing about Lucy though was her curvaceous figure and busty physique, which was something that was very noticeable to passers-by as she ran past them. Lucy of course knew this herself, as she had seen the way some men look at her, which is why a modelling had been her second choice of career if becoming a wizard didn't pan out.

"Ah! There it is!" Happy shouted out joyfully, catching Lucy's attention as she looked ahead and saw the building that belonged to the best, in her opinion, magical Guild in the world, Fairy Tail.

Lucy grinned as wide as possible at the sight of her dream Guild, her eyes sparkling in delight at her dream of joining Fairy Tail being so close at hand. It was something she had always wanted to do, ever since she was a little girl listening to her mother telling her stories of magic and Wizards.

Natsu grinned as well, his mood picking up at the sight of the Guild building. It was a place he loved more than anything in the world, the place where he had grown from a young child to a grown man, somewhere that was always filled with the laughter and cheerful smiles of his friends and comrades.

"Well come on then! Let's go!" Natsu shouted to his blond companion, before he reached out and grabbed her hand and started running towards the front door of the Guild, with Happy his flying blue cat chasing after him.

"Haha! Ok then!" Lucy laughed gleefully as she allowed herself to be pulled along after them, a grin still plastered on her face.

When they reached the front door of the Guild, however Lucy's excitement of joining Fairy Tail soon turned to slight nervousness. Her body beginning to shake slightly at the thought of maybe getting rejected by the Guild Master, yeah because that would crush her dream.

"W-what if they don't accept me in? What will I do then?" Lucy muttered to herself anxiously as she looked at the two large wooden doors in front of her.

"Chill out, trust me you have nothing to worry about Luigi!" Natsu laughed out, his sharp ears picking up on the blonde's word, a toothy grin on his face as he tried to cheer her up.

"It's Lucy," Lucy corrected him with a sigh, it was not the first time since she had met the dense pink haired Dragon Slayer that she'd had to correct him what her name was. In fact she was beginning to think he was doing it on purpose, the giggling cat certainly backed up her theory.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Natsu replied sending her another wide grin.

Lucy felt herself calm down slight as she saw this, taking a deep breath as she nodded her head. Then a few moments later the three pushed the door open with a loud bang.

"EVERYONE! WE'RE BACK!" Natsu and Happy both shouted in excitement as they entered the main hall, Lucy slowly trailing after them. The three of them looking around the Guild as they entered, seeing as they did so that the room was filled with shouting, drinking and laughing Guild members. The majority of them drinking and shouting out rude drinking chants, sloshing their beer over themselves as they sang and danced around.

Following after Natsu and Happy, the blonde haired mage slowly walked inside the loud and raucous Guild Hall. Looking around as she did so, taking in the loud cheerful residents, a slight grin on her face as she gazed around at her surroundings.

Furthermore she could see that the main hall was a huge open space with heavy looking wooden tables lining up around the room. Sitting on these tables were all sorts of different looking people, some of which she recognized from Sorcerer's Weekly Magazine, though there were some dotted around the room that she didn't recognise.

Smiling as she took in the happy atmosphere, Lucy found herself entranced by her surroundings, so much so that she barely noticed Natsu charging at a buck toothed wizard who had just made a joke about the pink haired Dragon Slayer destroying Hargeon. Which quickly led to all hell broke loose as the buck tooth mage Natsu hit was sent crashing into another wizard who responded by punching him back.

Soon enough the entire Guild devolved into a huge brawl as the surrounding Wizards all cheered and gleefully got stuck in. With tables, chairs and bottles being thrown all over the place as the Wizards clashed, laughing good naturedly as they fought. No malice or anger really, as they just enjoyed scrapping.

"So this is Fairy Tail?" Lucy, the up and coming Celestial Mage said in awe as she gazed around the building.

"Hahaha! Everyone bow down before the might NATSU!" Natsu roared out, letting a jet of flame erupt forth from his mouth as he stood victoriously on top of a small pile of dazed wizards.

It was this shout that finally got Lucy to snap out of her awe and notice what was happening around her, the fighting and laughing just causing her to look on in wonder and confusion.

"So Natsu is back is he!?" Gray Fullbuster shouted out as he walked into the fray, looking for his fiery rival as he did so, unconsciously stripping off his clothing as he prepared to kick Natsu's arse. That was of course before a sudden punch was delivered to side of his head, sending Gray crashing into one of the tables. Not that that kept him down for long as he immediately stood up, giving his attacker, Natsu, a dark glare as he did so.

"You're asking for it now matchstick!" Gray yelled at him, before he threw himself at the Dragon Slayer, tackling him into the another huddle of fighting wizards.

"You..." Gray growled as he delivered his own punch into Natsu's gut, "Bastard!"

"Hahahaha!" Natsu laughed out loudly as he and Gray started slugging it out on the floor, neither of them using their magic as there was no real anger in their fight.

"Gray... your clothes..." Came a random shout from Cana Alberona as she pointed out how Gray had somehow lost his white coat and dark clothes and was now in little more than his boxers.

"Gah! What the hell..." Gray yelled out in shock.

With Cana sighing in resigned annoyance, more than used to Gray's eccentric quirks, after all it seemed that all powerful Wizards had them.

"Hahahaha! You're an idiot, icicle cock!" Natsu laughed out mockingly.

"Shut up charcoal breath!" Gray yelled back in irritation.

"Damn! You are all idiots!" Cana muttered. "This is why I don't date anyone from the Guild, because you're all undignified idiots...! I really hate that!" Cana continued before she hefted up the large barrel of alcohol by her feet and began to chug it down.

Lucy gawked as all this was going down, the entire Guild rapidly devolving into a battle royal. Twisting around she could only watch in horror as the place was being torn apart and wrecked, with tables and chairs either being thrown or breaking due to attacks or bodies crashing into them. With rivers of alcohol flowing together and creating small lakes of beer on the ground. Not that the fighting mages cared as they continued rolling around in them.

"Oh my. It sure has been a while since the Guild was so rowdy." Mirajane commented, bringing a hand up to her mouth in amusement, not quite covering the warm smile that was on her face as she fondly looked around the Guild.

With her piece said Mira then turned to the unfamiliar busty blond who was staring around the Guild Hall, an expression of both shock and happiness spread across her face.

"And who are you?" Mira asked nicely, getting Lucy's full attention as she did so.

"Y-you're M-Mirajane... oh it's really you... like in the flesh... you're like o-one of the m-most beautiful women in Fiore " Lucy stuttered out in shock and amazement, almost fangirling out at seeing the beautiful and famous Mirajane in person. With her having admired Mira in her Sorcerer's Weekly Magazine, gleefully pouring over every article the S-Class mage turned model was in.

A loud crash soon distracted Lucy from her awe though, as she then turned back to the destruction the members of the Guild were doing to the Guild Building, pointing towards it as she did so. "So, why is everyone fighting, I mean is this kind of thing normal?"

Mirajane simply giggled at the blonde's question. "There is no need to worry. This kind of thing happens all the time, more so in the last few months, it is all just a bit of fun really. It only ever gets really serious when the Master gets drunk"

Lucy blinked at Mirajane's answer before she looked back at the ongoing chaos and her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it, but they actually were enjoying themselves. All of them were smiling and laughing, while being punched, kicked or thrown around the room by each other, crashing into the furniture and floor.

She didn't know how fighting like this could make them this happy.

Lucy looked back at Mirajane, just in time to see her dodge an oncoming bottle. The kind smile never leaving her face as she shifted again and dodged a thrown chair this time. "So Lucy what have you come to Fairy Tail for, if I can ask?" Mirajane asked Lucy, even as she got to work moving around her immediate area, saving what furniture and tankards she could from the ongoing destruction.

"O-oh well I came here with Natsu and... well I was wondering if I could join Fairy Tail?" Lucy replied, feeling her heart skip a beat as she said that out loud.

What if she got rejected? Would she be able to handle it? Would that be the end of her dreams?

"Of course. Anyone is welcome to join Fairy Tail as long as they are able to use magic and have the desire for adventure," Mirajane told her promptly, gently redirecting her brother's body so he crashed into the floor and not her as he was thrown bodily at her by the combined team of Natsu and Gray.

"Ehhh? Really?" Lucy looked surprised at this, "I don't have to take a test or anything? Do I have to be interviewed? What about Fairy Tail's Guild Master? I heard Fairy Tail recently got a new one a few months ago...? What is he like?" Lucy asked, unable to stop herself from bombarding Mirajane with questions, making doubly sure that this wasn't all part of some sneak test.

"Nope. No tests and interviews that's not the Guilds way, never was and never will be," The pretty barmaid replied shaking her head as she righted an overturned table, before turning back to the Fairy Tail hopeful, a thoughtful look on her face, "But yes about a two almost three months ago our previous Master, Makarov, took a short break to Akane Resort for a couple of months relaxation due to some health issues. In his stead though he decided to make his one of his relatives temporary Guild Master until he returns."

Lucy's face adopted a shocked expression as she had heard that Fairy Tail had a new Master, but Sorcerers Weekly hadn't really published any details, hell they hadn't been able to even get an interview. "Wow Laxus Dreyar the really powerful S-class wizard is new Guild Master?"

Lucy had heard all about Laxus Dreyar, Makarov's grandson and a famous Wizard in his own right, and speculated to be on track for being a member of the Wizard Saints in a few years' time. That and he was also ranked number nine in Sorcerers Weekly's Most Dateable Wizards List, a list she made sure to keep an eye on.

"Oh goodness no, although he wanted the position Master Makarov refused and gave it to someone else. Laxus was given an opportunity to challenge the current Master for the right to lead though, but was beaten quite badly. No one has really seen him much since, he only comes to the Guild to pick up high ranking jobs nowadays. From what I have heard he is training himself none stop, probably hoping to one day come back and win the right to be Master." Mirajane told her, whispering the last bit to her, almost like it was a guilty secret. "So no Laxus isn't the current guild Master. The current Guild Master is actually Naruto Dreyar and – oh well here he comes now, probably back from another council meeting."

Lucy quickly turned around as she heard that, hoping to get her first look of Fairy Tail's new Guild Master.

As she did so, she soon found herself looking at a spikey, blond haired man walking into the Guild. The man looked to be in his early twenties, and was probably around six feet tall, with tanned bronze coloured skin and very blue eyes that seemed to twinkle with barely restrained mirth as he glanced around at the chaos.

The new Guild Master was wearing a pair of black jeans, and over the black jeans he had on worn looking brown leather boots, a blue button up shirt with rolled up sleeves and the top two buttons undone. Over the top of his clothes he wore a brown leather jacket which had a grey fur trimmed collar.

"Whoa... he's kind of hot..." Lucy couldn't help but blurt out, having instead expected a powerful and wise looking old man with a slivery beard and a balding head. What she hadn't expected was to be confronted by a man who looked to be in his early to mid-twenties, but was still strong enough to defeat the infamous Laxus Dreyar. It was a surprise, a pleasant one at that.

"Good luck with that, you wouldn't be the first in the Guild to try it on with him. As far as I am concerned he is more likely to get into a relationship with a bottle of spirits than with another human being," Lucy heard an attractive brunette say from where she was sat in front of the bar. The brunette, Cana, taking a large drink from a barrel of booze as she finished talking.

"Naruto is our very own local asshole, absolute great shag from what I heard from some of the residents of Magnolia, but completely uninterested in committing anytime soon." She grinned after she finished drinking from the barrel. "I would try him out myself, if he hadn't already shot down a couple of Guild Members, telling them he finds inter guild relationships too messy, no matter what they may be."

Lucy blinked as she heard that, an incredulous expression on her face as she looked from the bikini clad girl to Fairy Tail's Guild Master, before she could say anything else though she was distracted by Natsu's sudden loud bellow.

"NARUTO! FIGHT ME!" Natsu suddenly yelled, causing a sudden lull in the fighting as she exploded forwards, charging at the blonde Guild Master his fist raised and his fight with Gray forgotten as he homed in on his, or at least in Natsu's mind his 'rival for the strongest Wizard in Fairy Tail'.

As he closed in on Naruto, Natsu's entire right arm was suddenly enshrouded in flames, the name of his technique just about to leave his lips as he closed in on the blonde.

Before.

"Oi, look! Igneel's behind you!" Naruto shouted loudly, pointing at a spot just behind Natsu a look of mock shock on his face as he did so. In response to that Natsu immediately stopped mid attack and turned around an eager expression on his face, only for him to not see his draconic father, but instead his fighting Guild Mates.

A few moments after that when he comprehended the trick Naruto had pulled on him, he then turned to face blonde, an annoyed expression on his face at how he had just tried to dodge out on fighting him again. His fist still ablaze as he prepared to follow through with his attack, only to blink in shock as he saw a chain like tendril of purple energy explode out of the small of Naruto's back and come rocketing to intercept him mid attack.

With a loud 'ooph!' Natsu was struck in the side and sent flying back, crashing through a nearby table and then continuing on for around ten feet before he smashed into a group of fighting Wizards.

"Master! You're supposed to set an example to the younger Guild Members you know that!" Mira shouted, completely unfazed by the magical bitch slap Natsu had just received. After all it had become somewhat of a common greeting ritual between the lackadaisical Guild Master and the overenthusiastic Dragon Slayer.

"Aww, come on you know I can't resist, not when he comes at me like that!" Naruto responded cheerfully, his eyes crinkling at the side as he gave Mira a quick grin. Aware as he did that the rest of the Guild had by now, all stopped fighting and had instead gathered round, all of them looking forward to watching Mira try and lecture Naruto, again. "I could always, give him a lightning Rasengan enema, I mean what is a little disintegration between friends eh Mira?"

Lucy went bug eyed as she heard that comment, and as she saw the Lightning Rasengan spell the Guild Master had both just named and created in his hand. A glowing, swirling, pure white ball of crackling, electrical magical power, Lucy could barely look at it without squinting, it was like he was holding a miniature sun in his hand. Fortunately though, as quickly as it appeared it disappeared, leaving Lucy blinking spots out of her eyes, and the Guild in momentary silence as they took in the technique. One they had seen in action before, after all he had used it in his fight a couple of months ago against Erza.

"Will you stop showing off that stupid ball thing." Mira scolded, already used to the blond showing off in front of newbie's with his Rasengan. It seemed that as mature as Naruto sometimes acted, he still had his moments of slight childishness. Even if they were few and far between though, Mira liked those moments, they made the Master seem a bit more human, and less like an old man in a young man's body.

"Oh you know you love it Mira?" Naruto responded with a grin, seeing through her mock scolding with ease, before continuing. "Besides I have to keep Natsu, that nut job, in check somehow. How better to do it then slap him down every now and then."

"Master!" Mira shouted, in a resigned voice, having obviously gotten used to the blonde's occasional bout of mischief.

"Cheater! You tricked me! That's not fair!" Natsu suddenly shouted, interrupting Mira and Naruto's conversation, much to the disappointment of some of the now gathered spectators. Natsu though was oblivious to all this though as he instead glared challengingly at Naruto.

Not that Naruto noticed as by then he had pulled out his hip flask from his pocket and had taken a quick drink of whiskey, a quick grin on his face as heard Natsu's complaining. "Yeah? Well life isn't fair Natsu, sometimes we just have to deal with it!" The blonde then said lazily, waving the Dragon Slayer away, knowing as he did so that it would only annoy Natsu more.

A few moments later though Naruto's grin faded, a suddenly serious look passing across his face. His blue eyes flashing dangerously as he looked around the Guild, his expression getting the attention of everyone present as he scanned the surrounding members of the Guild.

"I think that's the first time I've seen him with a serious look on his face..." Elfman spoke up, a slightly worried expression on his face, somewhat scared that the blonde was about to scold them all, just like old man Makarov used to do, that or maybe he was going to put his Rasengan to use once more.

"Me too..." Wakaba gulped, sharing a nervous glance with Nab, "What do you expect? He just came from a meeting with the Magic Council..."

Ignoring the muttering, the blonde then pulled a stack of papers from behind his back, a place where bottles of booze and paperwork mysteriously disappeared and appeared from, no one knew how yet. The stack of papers was around six inches thick, an entire of sheaf of complaints about the Guild. Complaints which Naruto proceeded to lift up into the air and shake at the assembled mages in front of him.

"Do you know what this is?!" Naruto questioned them, his voice low and his tone dangerous.

"..." Complete and utter silence followed that statement, as they waited for the inevitable tongue lashing they were about to receive. Many of them more than used to get lectured about their behaviour, Makarov being more than happy to dole out his haranguing.

"You little shits have done it again haven't you! Look at all these complaints! All of these documents were given to me by the bloody Magic Council!" Naruto suddenly yelled, before he proceeded to start listing off some of the incidents the more badly behaved Guild Members had caused.

Lucy as she listened to this, was completely astonished at all the things he was listening. From casually walking naked through the busy streets of a town (Gray), to a Talent Agency charging the Guild compensation due to the one of the Guild Members borderline stalking the models (Loke).

"You guys... the Council was so angry at me they talked my ear off for nearly three hours..." Naruto continued, less than pleased at having to deal with the Council, especially since some of them could have potentially recognised him.

Lucy as she heard all this started shaking in fear, starting to get a little scared as she saw the blonde Guild Master beginning to leak his potent, purple tinted magical power, small bits of lightning running along his body like static as he did so.

"Yup. He's pissed."

"Yeah big time!"

"Man, I wonder what he's going to do to us... He can be scary sometimes... remember what he did to Natsu the last time he ate his Ramen?"

"D-Don't remind me!"

"I am very disappointed in you," The continued blond his expression stoic as he looked across at the assembled Wizards, "If you're going to destroy stuff, don't get caught doing it, that way the Council won't receive complaints about us and I won't be nagged by them"

With that said Naruto then grinned his blue eyes twinkling madly, already knowing that the chances of Fairy Tail not breaking stuff was non-existent, to be fair they helped out a lot more than they broke stuff, so on the scales of Karma they were still in the green.

In response to this the assembled Fairy Tail mages couldn't help but face palm at what the blonde had just said, that was before they realised they were in the clear and started cheering and partying again, righting fallen table and chairs, and passing out new tankards of beer and bottles of spirit around as they started to party enthusiastically.

"What an irresponsible thing to say..."

"Yeah, but better then him shouting at, meh fuck it lets celebrate not getting in trouble!"

"What a MAN!"

"Lets get this party started!"

"I wish Ezra was here..."

"Shut up Nab!"

As this was all going down, Naruto raised his hand and channelled lightning into the complaints he was clutching, causing the stack of paper to crinkle and then start to burn. With that done he threw it at a cheering Natsu, who upon seeing it leapt forward and caught it in his mouth enjoying the tasty snack.

Following this Naruto then headed for the Guild's bar, where he could see the attractive Mirajane and a new busty blonde he had briefly seen when he first came into the Guild standing, both of them chatting as the pretty blonde helped Mira clean up the mess the other Guild Members had created.

"Hey Mira how's it going?" Naruto called out, a friendly smile on his face as he met her gaze, before his expression turned slightly mischievous as he saw the way the blonde girl was looking at him. "By the way, you know it isn't my birthday don't you? There was no need to get me a stripper!"

Mira rolled her eyes at that, not at all impressed. It seemed the more comfortable Naruto got the more mischief he was prone to cause. When he had first become Guild Master, he'd been calm, quiet and well-behaved. Now though he was almost as mischievous as the previous Guild Master, Makarov.

As for Lucy it took her a few seconds to realize he had called her a stripper, she could tell her was joking, but even so.

"I'm not a stripper!" Lucy snapped out at him in outrage, all her previous nervousness gone as her fiery attitude returned to her full force.

"Aww that's a pity." Naruto replied dryly, before a few moments later he let out a slight chuckle as he saw the girl's glare, "I am just screwing with you, now what can I do for you?"

"Her name is Lucy and she's interested in becoming a Fairy Tail mage," Mira spoke up for the blond, casting a glare at Naruto telling him to behave as she did so.

"Is that so?" Naruto eyed her up and down appreciatively, noticing the Celestial Keys he could see hanging from her belt, "You're a Celestial Mage huh, nice I always fancied trying that magic out, never really had the time?"

"Oh, really? Well I would let you try, but a Wizard's Celestial Keys only really work for their contracted Wizard." Lucy replied, a slight smile on her face as she scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"Hmm...I see. Ah well no problems, so anyway if you really want to join the mighty Fairy Tail Guild, then there is one thing I need to make sure." Naruto told her ignoring Mira warning glare, a smile almost breaking onto his face as he did so. Lucy gulped.

 _'What is this thing going be? I thought Mira said there was no test for joining!'_ Lucy thought nervously as she waited for the mischievous blonde Guild Master to tell her what she needed to do, to officially join the Guild.

Just as she was preparing herself for some terrible task, she felt something tap her on her butt. Feeling that she blinked and turned her head down to see a hand gently resting there. However, it wasn't just anyone's hand, it was Fairy Tail Guild's Master's hand.

"Yep, everything seems to be in order..." Naruto commented, waiting for her reaction.

Lucy blushed bright red as she saw this, before a few moments later she brought her fist up and sent it flying, catching the blonde in the gut. Much to Naruto amusement as he let out a slight chuckle, and sent the girl a grin, bringing both hands behind his head as he did so.

"You pervert!" Lucy shouted with a bright red face, holding her fist in front of her, ready to strike again with all her feminine fury.

"Hehe..." Naruto chuckled in amusement, pulling himself up straight as he did so. "You're a feisty one! You will definitely do well in Fairy Tail."

"Does that mean I can I join or not!?" Lucy demanded calming down slightly upon seeing he was joking, still a little peeved, but not overly so.

"Of course you can. If you have enough balls to almost punch me through the bar, you're a natural Fairy Tail member." Naruto grinned as Mirajane handed him a glass of freshly poured Whiskey to ease his stomach.

Lucy's face lit up in excitement at that. She was going to be a mage of Fairy Tail. Her dream of joining her favourite Guild was going to become a reality. She very nearly squealed in excitement.

"Now then, where would you like it?" Mirajane asked Lucy sweetly, a kind smile on her face as she looked over at the blonde.

Upon hearing that Lucy was slightly confused at first, no doubt expecting it to be perverted in some way, but then she saw the stamp Mira had in her hands and understood.

"Right here." She showed Mirajane the back of her right hand. The attractive barmaid nodding as she then proceeded to stamp the symbol of Fairy Tail on her hand, in her favourite colour to, pink.

When it was done, Lucy then examined the symbol and grinned in excitement, throwing a brilliant smile at Naruto and Mira, before she then ran over to Natsu to show him her new Guild Mark. "Hey Natsu! Look, I'm officially a member of Fairy Tail!"

Natsu turned and grinned at her as he heard that. "What, oh that's great Luigi!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Lucy snickered as she heard that, placing her other hand on top of the mark. This time ignoring Natsu getting her name wrong, after all at the moment she was too happy to care, especially now she was a fully-fledged member of the infamous Fairy Tail Guild.

"Haha glad to finally have another girl around her, this place was turning into a real sausage fest" Cana grinned at Lucy from where she was sat at the bar. "Don't worry about the Master either, he can be a jerk sometimes but he truly is very kind, and really does care about all of us. That little test of his was his way of making sure you have the courage to defend yourself, if you didn't hit him he probably would have had you spend the next month tagging along with other mages on missions." The brunette stated a grin on her face as she threw her arm around Lucy and dragged her into a half hug.

 **( - )**

 **(At the bar)**

At the bar Mirajane finally took her eyes off of the happy Lucy, before turning her eyes to Naruto and glaring at him, "You know she is probably going to think you're a pervert now!"

"Me? A pervert? Surely not, no I would never dream of being a pervert, I saw the consequences of perversion happen to my Godfather too many times, poor Jiraiya may you peek on the women in the next life forever more," Naruto responded, his voice dripping with false sincerity as he defended himself, vague happy memories of his long dead godfather lingering in his head as he did so.

"M-master Naruto, Sir"

Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard that voice, turning around he looked down and saw Romeo the son of Macou one of Fairy Tail's wizard walking up to him, a vulnerable expression on his face. Catching the boy's eye, the blonde Guild Master then cocked his eyebrow and gestured for the boy to continue speaking.

"My father went on a mission a couple of weeks ago. He was supposed to be back today, do you know what might have happened?" The little boy asked, tears threatening to escape from the corners of his eyes.

"Missions are sometimes tricky Romeo, sometimes you can lose track of the time." Naruto replied to the kid, when seeing his words weren't comforting Naruto sighed before continuing. "Tell you what kid, if your dad isn't back by tomorrow I will send a couple of Wizards to look for him. He's probably just running a little late, but I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry. Will that do you kid?"

Romeo, merely smiled at Naruto, somewhat comforted by his words, before turning round and running off to find Wakaba, his father's closest friend who he was currently staying with, to tell him the news.

Letting out a sigh once the kid was far enough away, Naruto started rubbing his forehead with his hand. He wasn't cut out for leading the Guild he knew that, thinking back on it he was glad he never did become Hokage, the stress of it would have probably driven him to an early grave.

No after he had arrived in Fiore, battered and bruised after his fight against Pein, Naruto had come to a realisation. He was most at his most happy out there in the world, in the middle of the action, not stuck behind a desk dealing with paperwork. Fortunately though this gig was only temporary, and soon enough he would be a free agent again.

It had been almost three months since he had taken over the position, and he was feeling the urge for an adventure. In fact he may take a little mission very soon, just to tide himself over for the time being. Hopefully though Makky would be back sometime in the next few weeks and he could stop being Guild Master, and maybe take an S-class mission or something interesting, just to get the blood pumping.

 **( - )**

 **AN: Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it and leave a review.**

 **Just wanted to say the pairing for this story will be the same as the original. I will also be changing the way I approached Lucy's character, as I think I was a little disingenuous the last time around.**

 **Other than that I hope you enjoy it, and check out some of my other stories if you fancy it!**

 **See you later.**

 **Seagate.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: So this chapter hasn't changed a lot, it has been cleaned up a bit and adjusted to maintain continuity for the other changes I have made. That being said I have decided to make another change to the story, a major one this time after I saw the most recent chapters of Fairy Tail, which by the way has now continued on from the previous end. With it now partially taking place in another country and following Natsu and co on their 100 year quest. Suffice to say when I read what comes next it got my creative juices flowing, so much so that I changed my initial plan for this story, changing another bits and pieces.**

 **So yeah other than that sorry for the time between updates, but unfortunately I have been very busy recently. Though I am hoping to get more free time soon, so much so that I have almost finished planning out my rewrite of my Naruto/ DxD story, Ten tailed Wolf!**

 **Other than that I hope you enjoy the chapter and leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _Romeo, merely smiled at Naruto, somewhat comforted by his words, before turning round and running off to find Wakaba, his father's closest friend who he was currently staying with, to tell him the news._

 _Letting out a sigh once the kid was far enough away, Naruto started rubbing his forehead with his hand. He wasn't cut out for leading the Guild he knew that, thinking back on it he was glad he never did become Hokage, the stress of it would have probably driven him to an early grave._

 _No after he had arrived in Fiore, battered and bruised after his fight against Pein, Naruto had come to a realisation. He was most at his most happy out there in the world, in the middle of the action, not stuck behind a desk dealing with paperwork. Fortunately though this gig was only temporary, and soon enough he would be a free agent again._

 _It had been almost three months since he had taken over the position, and he was feeling the urge for an adventure. In fact he may take a little mission very soon, just to tide himself over for the time being. Hopefully though Makky would be back sometime in the next few weeks and he could stop being Guild Master, and maybe take an S-class mission or something interesting, just to get the blood pumping._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 6**

 **( - )**

 **(In the Fairy Tail Guild Hall)**

"Ermm Mira, why is Natsu's food on fire?" Lucy Heartfilia, Fairy Tail's newest member spoke up, a surprised expression on her face as she pointed quite deliberately at the flaming plate of 'food' the Guild's barmaid, Mirajane, was about to serve Fairy Tail's resident Dragon Slayer, Natsu Dragneel.

"Oh this, this is just Natsu's breakfast." Mirajane replied, a friendly smile on her face as she looked from the eager looking Natsu to the somewhat befuddled looking Lucy, a soft, lilting laugh issuing forth from her lips as she did so.

"Eh! He eats fire for breakfast!" Lucy replied loudly, her expression turning from confusion to shock now.

Seeing this Mirajane merely nodded at her surprised expression, after all she had been just as shocked when she had first found out about Natsu's peculiarities, with his fire eating being one of many.

"Yep." The white haired barmaid replied back with a smile, before heading off to deliver Natsu his flaming food. "Here you go, Natsu!"

Natsu in response to this, let out a loud whoop of excitement as she placed his food on the table, after which he quickly started digging in, shovelling the fiery meal into his mouth with his hands, ignoring the looks of revulsion he was receiving as he instead just devoured the fire.

"Thanks, Mira!" Natsu shouted to her, looking up from his food as he did so, only to go back to stuffing his face a few moments later.

"Hey, what about me Mira?" Happy asked, with Mirajane merely smiling as she heard that, before she pulled her other hand out from behind her back to reveal a fish she held in her hand.

Immediately upon seeing this Happy's face twisted into one of both excitement and greed, his eyes positively gleaming as Mirajane handed him the fish, after which he instantly started going to town on it, Happy having no doubt picked up his bad eating habits from Natsu.

Mirajane giggled at that, long since used to their eccentricities. Shaking her head in amusement, she then walked away, leaving the two to their meals as she instead went to attend some of the other members of the Guild.

"Hey Natsu?" Wakaba, a middle aged man with a pipe and a pompadour hair style, whispered to the pink haired dragon slayer. Getting his attention as Natsu, now finished with his meal turned his head to look over at older man, grinning as he continued to eat. "Where did you find such a cutey!" Wakaba then continued, a wide pervy grin spreading across his face as he looked from Natsu to the nearby Lucy, an appreciative expression on his face.

"I wonder if she'll join my team." A man next to Wakaba shouted out laughing, his eyes twinkling as he also checked out the busty blond girl.

"Ha! Good luck with that!" Natsu shouted at them as he devoured the last piece of his food in one gulp glaring at the two men, not all that bothered about their comments, after all they were lecherous and a bit creepy, but otherwise harmless.

"It's been a while since I've been on a mission!" Natsu then shouted out as he stood up and started stretching before he headed over to the request board, completely ignoring the two other men, both of whom had begun muttering to each other, Happy following closely behind him. "Well, what kind of request should we go on, eh Happy?" Natsu then continued as he looked over to his partner, even as he started to check out the available missions posted up on the board.

Before Happy could reply though, he was interrupted by a snippet of conversation he could hear over at the bar.

"Did my daddy come back today?" A loud childlike voice asked, one that belonged to the young Romeo Conbolt.

Natsu turned his head over to look at the bar as he heard that, noting as he did so the little black haired boy and who he was talking to, Fairy Tail's current Guild Master, Naruto Dreyar.

"No sorry kid, Macou hasn't come back yet." Naruto told Romeo with a sigh.

"A-are you g-going to send someone to get my daddy then? B-because y-you said that you would send s-someone to get him if my daddy wasn't back!" The boy then asked, tears starting to appear in his eyes as he did so.

"Macou's job is at Mount Hakobe, isn't it?" Naruto asked a kindly smile on his face as he looked down at the kid, raising an eyebrow as he did so, and butting his tankard of ale to one side for the moment.

"It's not far away, he should be back by now!" The boy replied, looking hopefully up at the blond Guild Master as he did so. "Please look for him! I'm worried about him!"

"Alright, a promise is a promise after all! Oi Natsu!" Naruto replied, before he looked around the Guild, trying to spot where the pesky, pink, haired dragon slayer had gone. Upon seeing the kid standing at the missions' board looking curiously over at the confrontation between him and Romeo, Naruto then grinned. "Yeah you pinky, how do you fancy going to Mount Hakobe and finding Macou for the kid? Oh yeah, and if you do you might as well take the new girl, Lucy, with you, it would be a good first mission for her!"

"Sure thing Master, come on Happy lets go save Macou!" Natsu then shouted excitedly, turning around and running towards the door as he did so, Happy quickly flying after him.

"Oi, dipshit I said take Lucy with you!" Naruto shouted out as he saw this, stopping Natsu in his tracks as he did so, making the dragon slayer do an about face as he then ran up to Lucy.

"Come on let's go Lucy, we need to go save Macou!" Natsu said taking Lucy's hand in his as he did so, before he started dragging her to the door.

"O-ok ermm let's go then." Was Lucy's slightly confused reply as she began jogging after Natsu, mentally preparing herself for her first Fairy Tail mission as she did so, a slight smile spreading across her face at that thought.

 **( - )**

 **(Back in the Guild Hall)**

"Are you sure sending Lucy and Natsu was the best of ideas Master?" Mirajane asked Naruto, looking worriedly in the directions the two wizards had left as she did so, before she looked back at the blonde Guild Master, her brow furrowing as she saw the unconcerned expression on his face.

"Yeah should be fine, it is only a short trip to Mount Hakobe and Macou didn't take a particularly difficult mission. His mission was just to clear out a few Balkan's from their mountain lair." Naruto replied cheerfully in response, picking up his tankard as he did so, before he drained it of the amber liquid within. "Good experience for a newbie."

"But... do the two of them even know what kind of request Macau took?" Mirajane asked. "Because it might be a bit of a shock to Lucy, Balkans are hardly the easiest things for newbie wizards to deal with?!"

Naruto however just waved her worries away. "Don't worry about it, Natsu may be as dumb as a stump, but he is a strong wizard and will protect his fellow Guild members no matter what. It's one of his better traits."

As the two talked, Macau's son Romeo started wiping away his tears, a warm smile appearing on his face as he looked away from Naruto and instead watched Natsu and Lucy leave the Guild building, intent on saving his father.

"So what will you do now Master? Will you take a little mission now the Macou problem is being resolved?" Mira asked as she put another tankard of ale in front of Naruto, slapping away Cana's hands as she tried to steal it, the borderline alcoholic being too impatient to wait for a refill of her own.

"Yeah, I have just the one picked out. A nice and easy mission to steal a book from this Duke Evelue guy, I mean, it is only 200,000 jewels so it should be easy enough and the job details say that Evelue is looking to recruit a blonde maid. Stealing and impersonation, it is just like in the good old days." Naruto reminisced, thinking back on his time as a shinobi as he did so, thinking back on it now he would say this mission would probably be categorised as a C-rank.

"Oh ok, sounds like fun when will you be going?" Mira asked with a smile, serving Cana now as she did so, before turning back to Naruto, only to see him once again draining his tankard.

With that done, Naruto then sent her a smile as he got up, "Why, right now Mira, I will be back whenever."

"Goodbye Master!" Mira called after him, scooping up his empty tankard as she saw Naruto hop off his stool and head for the door, absentmindedly waving over his shoulder as he did so.

 **( - )**

 **(Later that day)**

"Finally I'm here!" Naruto shouted out as he hopped off of the wagon that he had taken, stretching slightly to ease his aching body after the bumpy ride as he did so. Grunting slightly as he heard his back cracking, Naruto then took a look at the place his mission was requested from.

All in all it was a pretty nice place, the building was a huge well cared for mansion, not really that surprising considering the client was paying such a hefty price for just a book.

"Next time I am definitely getting here by foot, it's almost as if the driver was bumping the wagon on purpose. Asshole." The blonde groaned out as he sent the departing wagon driver a suspicious look, knowing he was just being a bit grumpy as he did so.

That being said there was of course a reason why he took the slow way here, the reason being it gave him an excuse to get away from the Guild Building for as long as possible. It wasn't that he disliked being in the Guild, it was just that it was far more fun being just a member than the Master, mainly the paperwork, which was why he rejected his old friend, the Second Master Precht's offer of becoming the Third Master and instead left and let his son have the position, which also gave the kid a chance to get out from under Naruto's shadow, and build a reputation of his own.

Giving the mansion another appreciative look Naruto then turned on his heel and walked in the other direction, deciding to head to a place where he could stuff his mouth with food first, it was not like the mission or mansion was going anywhere after all.

One long meal and four mugs of ale later he finished eating, and once again arrived in front of the client's mansion knocking on the door as he did so. _'Ha! I can almost picture the disapproval on Mira's face if she saw me now, I might just tell her to piss her off actually.'_ Naruto thought to himself with a slightly giggle, picture Mira's frowning face as he did so. Call it a little childish, but Naruto got along well with Mira, and enjoyed the somewhat banterous rapport he was building with her.

"Oi, is anyone going to answer the door!?" Naruto then shouted after continuously knocking for a couple of minutes, call him impatient, but it would not be a lie to say he was very close to just blasting the door down. Not that he ever would, he wasn't that much of an asshole after all.

"Keep your voice down!" Someone behind the door finally yelled at Naruto. "Who are you and why the hell are you shouting?"

"Ah! I'm from Fairy Tail, so you know being loud and obnoxious, it is kind of in the job description. Now are you going to answer the door or should I just kick it down?!" Naruto replied cheerfully, his lips twisting up into a smile as he did so.

"Easy now, there is no need to do that!" The voice hurriedly replied. "I'm sorry, but can you please enter through the back door, please?"

"Whatever..." Naruto muttered before he started walking around the house to the back door.

After eventually reaching the back door he was then invited in by the client, an elderly, grey haired, serious looking man called Kaby Melon and his slightly younger, and stiff looking wife.

"I'm dearly sorry for what happened earlier." Kaby apologized sincerely whilst still trying to remain serious. "I'm the client for the mission. My name is Kaby Melon and this here is my wife Mirando Melon."

"Don't worry about it old man, I don't hold grudges, they're far too troublesome!" Naruto laughed taking his client's hand and shaking it firmly as he did so, enjoying breaking Kaby's serious facade. Turning Miranda Melon Naruto then slapped a charming smile on his face as he gently took her hand and brushed his lips against it. "As for you Mrs Melon can I just say it is delightful to meet you, in fact I think meeting you has just made my day."

"Oh my how forward." Miranda responded lightly, somewhat flustered by the blond wizard's actions, not that she was complaining.

"Ha ha easy now she is married you know?" Kaby replied chuckling slightly at his wives flustered face.

"Ha ha, yeah I hear that a lot." The blond responded with a conspiratorial wink to Kaby before he once again turned to Miranda a smile on his face. "I jest of course but it is indeed nice to meet you."

"Oh it's nice to meet you too, I'm sorry about before but you just caught me off guard." Miranda apologized her cheeks still slightly pink.

"Ha that's good though, after all what is life without a few surprises! Though I must say I would have never guessed that mages from the renowned Fairy Tail would actually accept my request?" Kaby spoke up, deciding to stop acting serious as he gestured for the blonde wizard to come in.

"Really? I'm actually surprised that the job was still available actually?!" Naruto responded honestly, he only got it because he was the Master and had first dibs, after all he knew for a fact that several other Fairy Tail members had been interested in the job before he had taken it down from the board.

"Mind if I ask your name?" Kaby asked him.

"Ah-ha, sorry about that, can't believe I forgot to introduce myself. Right so my name is Naruto." Naruto grinned, giving a wave of his hand as he did so.

"Well it is nice to meet you Naruto." Kaby replied with a friendly smile before trying to appear serious again. "Now then you might as well come through to the sitting room, so we can talk about the work."

"Alright!" Naruto replied grinning in anticipation of the upcoming mission.

"I only ask of you one thing, to go and incinerate a book called 'Day Break' from Duke Everlue's mansion in Shirotsume Town. That is all." Kaby then explained the request, sitting beside his wife on a sofa in the sitting room as he did so, with Naruto sitting in a plush armchair opposite him.

"Huh really? So you don't want me to steal it?" Naruto asked surprised.

"Well technically I am actually asking you to destroy something that is the possession of someone else, so it is kind of like stealing." Kaby spoke up. "But if I am honest as long as the book is destroyed I don't care. Just get rid of it, please."

"Oh that's fine then, I suppose it would probably be easier to just burn down the whole mansion?" Naruto replied idly, laughing in amusement as he saw Miranda Melon's look of horror as she heard the comment.

"Ermm, I would rather you didn't do that! As you may go to jail for it and so might I as the client!" Kaby choked out nervously, clearly hoping that the blonde was only joking.

"Yeah of course I'm just kidding I mean who would do a thing like that haha..." Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head as he did so.

"Anyway… Would you mind if I asked what is in that book?" Naruto asked. "I mean if you're rewarding 200,000 Jewels to destroy it, it must be an important book?"

"Actually I was just about to up the price to 2 million jewels for the book to be destroyed... but now that you have already accepted the mission I have no real need to." Kaby replied with a sly smile. At that, Naruto eyes widened almost imperceptibly in slight surprise before narrowing them as a thought just struck him.

"You don't have that kind of money do you, you were just going to use it to lure any wizard you could into doing your job?" Naruto suddenly asked, causing Kaby's eyes to widen in surprise, whilst Miranda started looking distinctly nervous.

"W-What?" Kaby spluttered in response. "I-I mean-"

"You don't actually live here do you? No if I had to guess, I would say you are borrowing this home from a friend of yours, that or you're renting it just to look big so that people will accept your request? How do I know, well it might be the fact that the house and decorations don't fit your character, or that you seem to be slightly unsure and uncomfortable as you move around the house. Either way I can tell you don't belong here." Naruto explained no humour on his face now as he looked curiously at Kaby, the twinkle from his eyes disappearing and being replaced by a colder, sterner gaze, a gaze which looked far too old for the face it belonged to.

Kaby himself was shocked at the man's deductive skills, it seemed that behind the easy going, flirty wizard there was a sharp mind.

"T-That's incredible..." Kirby muttered, feeling somewhat uncomfortable by the man's gaze.

"You are right and we are sorry to have deceived you Naruto, we did not mean anything bad by it, we just needed a wizard to accept the job." Miranda spoke up slightly solemnly as she looked at Naruto.

"I guess this means you won't accept my request then...?" Kaby asked a slight frown on his face now.

"Nah it is fine, of course I'll still do it." Naruto responded suddenly smiling again, his gaze once again lightening and turning cheerful.

"What Really?" Miranda Melon asked, looking at him in surprise as he smiled.

"Sure we won't get paid, but it sounds like a fun job and I am feeling nice." Naruto replied nodding his head as he did so.

"T-Thank you so much..." Kaby gasped out shaking slightly as he reached out and grasped Naruto's hand thankfully. His wife Miranda gently placing a hand on his shoulder as he did so.

"Well, I might as well go then!" The blonde spoke up, giving a nod to Kaby and a wink to his wife.

"Bye and thank you so much." Kaby called out to him as he watched the blonde get up and leave, standing and escorting the wizard to the door as he did so.

"He is a good person even though we lied he still wanted to help, we got lucky with him?" Miranda said as she smiled a few minutes later, looking at the now closed door, before she looked over to her husband.

"Mm. Yes he is."

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime later in Shirotsume Town)**

"Damn this mansion is just as nice as the last one… what am I doing wrong in my life, why can't I live in a place like that?" Naruto asked himself as he stood on the branch of a tree just outside the mansion. "Now how to get in, should I be subtle and sneaky like a ninja, or should I be loud and excessively destructive like a wizard. Choices choices."

As the blond Guild Master idly surveyed the stately mansion of Duke Everlue he couldn't help but sigh internally. If he still had chakra then he could have used the transparency jutsu and entered unseen. Unfortunately though he no longer had access to proper chakra, just the mutated chakra/ magic hybrid energy that was now in his chakra channels.

It had been a gradual thing, when he had first arrived in this world a very long time ago at the tender age of sixteen, he had his powerful chakra and partial access to Kyuubi chakra, and for a year or so, all had been well, however unfortunately by the time he realised the effect this world was having on him, it was too late.

Suffice to say in turns out that just like the wizards here on Earthland when he found himself thrust into this world, his body started to naturally absorb the Ethernano or particles of magic in the air into his body, which for wizards would recharge their magic supplies. However after he had absorbed the Ethernano, it had corrupted the chakra in his body, mutating it into a hybrid of both magic and chakra.

Which is a way was good in that it made the energy in his body more potent than before, but bad in that the chakra/ magic that now flowed through his body was now too dense for him to do proper jutsu's so all his old techniques that required hand seals were now inaccessible to him.

Another bad side effect of the change in his body, is that the energy super charged his latent Uzumaki traits such as his healing, stamina and reserves. And although the power boost was pretty badass, the unfortunate part was that his healing had been increased to the point at which he no longer aged.

From what he could figure out, the new powerful energy in his body mutated his healing factor that was already boosted thanks to the Kyuubi into something else, which meant the cells in his body, when they split were now identical, which meant they no longer aged or changed which meant that he no longer aged or changed either, which was cool in the fact that he was now an eternal stud and shit, due to the fact he would outlive everyone he would ever love.

This of course also meant that the Kyuubi was gone now, with the tailed beast having been a ball of condensed chakra, which was just as susceptible to the corruption of Ethernano, unfortunately for the beast however, it didn't survive the corruption like Naruto had.

Still it wasn't all bad though, as he eventually got over the loss of Kurama after about twenty years on Earthland and found a way to work around his inability to use jutsu. He instead recreated some of the shinobi techniques except using his now enhanced magic energy, which made him pretty badass if he did say so himself. Such as manipulating his energy and manipulating it into chains and the like, or anything he liked really.

Pushing away his thoughts of the past Naruto once again went back to appraising Everlue's mansion, he could still use his chakra control exercises even with the energy in his body, and he could still reinforce his body with his enhanced magic, so he could probably just walk up to the wall and break in, burn the book and get out without anyone noticing…. But nah fuck that, if experience taught him anything his plans never make it passed the first part, he might as well try to sneak in, but if it all goes to shit he could just revert to being a destructive wizard again.

Nodding to himself Naruto leapt from the tree branch he was on towards Everlue's mansion, as he did so he channelled his **'Lightning Magic'** and with a barely audible crack of lightning he flashed away and made it to the mansion. Standing upright on the wall he then simply walked up it, confident in the knowledge he hadn't been seen yet, his shinobi skills were still there, slightly rusty of course, but still there.

Making it onto the roof of the mansion Naruto then walked up to the nearest window and placed his hand on the glass, channelling super condensed and hot lightning through his hands as he did so, making it glow and crackle. A few moments later, as soon as his hand made contact with the glass, it melted away.

With that done, Naruto then grinned as he daw the hole he'd made, after which he then just put his hand through the hole in the window and unlocked and opened it.

Finding himself in some kind of storage room the blond casually opened the door and walked into the rest of the house, his feet not making a noise as he glided across the floor. After that he just strolled through the empty hallway looking for the library. _'Damn maybe I overestimated this mission, this is kind of boring maybe I should of used tried to use a bit of_ _ **'transformation magic'**_ _, and pretended to be some busty blond maid and sneak in that way. Nah that Everlue guy looks like a troll and I doubt I would have been able to resist blasting him through a wall if he tried to grope me. Right screw subtly I am bored now, I've spent too many years acting like a wizard, besides for a job as easy as this, subtly isn't really needed anyway.'_

"Oi, can anyone tell me where the library is!?" Naruto yelled out with a smirk as he looked around, it was not long after his shout that five of the ugliest maids you could ever imagine seemed to come out of nowhere, taking odd, sloppy fighting stances, all of them leering dangerous at the blonde as they did so.

"Finally! Some action!" Naruto laughed slamming a fist into his other hand as he grinned maniacally at the ugly maids.

"An intruder! He must be eliminated!" The largest maid there growled out to the others as they charged at Naruto, with the massive pink haired gorilla like behemoth of a maid who spoke, cracking her knuckles ominously as she glared down at Naruto. The blonde being forced to look up at the colossal woman as she did so.

"Come on then!" Naruto laughed out unperturbed as he then charged right back at them. His right leg crackling with lightning as simply kicked out at four of the maids that were charging him, leaving them all unconscious and embedded into one of the corridor walls after his attack.

"Damn is that all? That is kind of boring, I thought they would put up more of a fight." Naruto sighed before he turned to face his final opponent who towered over him by at least three feet, his smile returning as this maid looked like she would put up a better challenge.

"Come on then, bring it you troll!" Naruto shouted, releasing his hybrid energy from his body as he did so and manipulating it into the shape of four thick tendrils of purple energy, each of which was tipped by a wickedly sharp looking barb.

Obviously taking Naruto's comment as a challenge the massive maid then bull charged the much smaller blond wizard, her eyes seemingly a flame in rage and the floor practically trembling as she did so.

"Come then!" Naruto bellowed out as the maid charged him, leaping forwards as he did so, the infusing the tendrils with lightning magic and them binding together as he did so, after which he then lashed out, striking the charging maid in the flank, mid charge. The heavy blow hitting the maid like a brick wall and physically lifting her of the ground and slamming her not just through the wall at the end of the corridor but through the wall beyond that. ' _God damn I really love doing that.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he looked on at the destruction he caused. "Yeah you have had your punishment now stay down!" he then shouted after the sending the now missing maid a cheeky smile as he did so.

With that said he started walking off down the corridor again. Eventually, a few minutes later he made it downstairs and luckily found the library quite easily, mainly because the door was open, but meh.

Quickly looking around the library and at the many books, he immediately saw the one he was looking for, it was pretty obvious after all, due to its bright yellow cover and the title 'Day Break' which was emblazoned across the spine of the book in big, bold letters.

"Alright then, let's burn it!" Naruto smirked as he covered his hand in lightning. "Actually I recognise the author Kemu Zaleon, there's a name I have not heard in a while and from the feel of it, it has traces of magic on it to."

Making a snap decision Naruto decided to keep the book, he could figure out the magic on it, on his way back to Kaby's house. "Right job done, I'm off, bored of this mission now, besides I fancy getting a drink anyway." Naruto then continued, absentmindedly talking to himself as he checked out the rest of the room, looking for anything interesting, only to come up with nothing.

"Byoyoyoyo! I believe you are underestimating me, you filthy little mage if you think I am just going to let you leave my house after stealing from me." Came the obnoxious voice of a short, ugly looking man called Duke Everlue. "No I think what you are going to do is instead drop the book and pray that I don't just kill you for trespassing!"

Turning to look at the man Naruto just gave him an unimpressed look, "I was wondering how long you were going to hide before finally showing yourself. Not that it will do you any good anyway little man, I am way out of your league!"

Everlue in response just grinned and snapped his fingers. As he did so Naruto turned his head to see two of the book shelves in the library begin to move as a secret entrance opened up and two figures emerged. "Byoyoyoyoyo! Allow me to introduce to you little wizard to the Vanish Brothers!"

"It's finally time for our business." The figure on the right a small squat figure with a pointed face and no hair said as he attempted to intimidate the blond Guild Master, not that he knew Naruto was a Guild Master.

"If we get paid without actually doing any work, Mama will get mad at us." The other figure a tall muscly man with a star shaped haircut replied also attempting to intimidate Naruto as he did so.

With that said the two figures walked out of the secret entrance and took fighting positions as they continued to stare Naruto down. "Good afternoon!" The bald headed brother greeted Naruto.

"You are clearly a mage of a legal Guild young wizard, and by the way you act I would hazard a guess at Fairy Tail, it is therefore unfortunate that you don't seem too strong, I was looking forward to a fight." The other brother said, coming across as surprisingly insightful as he did so. "Mama would be surprised too."

"Well I am going to hazard a guess that from the way you are dressed and the Guild symbol that you are members of the mercenary Guild called the Southern Wolves." Naruto smirked, as he once again channelled lightning into his hands. "Let's just hope you two do better than those maids I fought before."

"What a joke." The bald one said. "It seems he is underestimating us."

"Mama would be so angry at him! We need to show him some manners!"

"Right let us g-" The bald one started, but was shocked when Naruto appeared right in front of him so fast that he was almost a blur. Giving him a smug smile the blonde then grabbed both brother's heads and slammed them both together. The brother's both started shaking as the lightning in Naruto's hands shocked them, almost frying the nerves in their brains, a few seconds later both brothers collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Duke Everlue 'seyes widened and jaw dropped as he saw that, his eyes widening at how easily the two men he hired were defeated.

"Now then, you're next!" Naruto smirked as he started walking towards the little man.

"W-Wait a minute... a-alright I get it, you can take the book, no wait you can take anything you want...!" The Duke replied desperately, starting to grovel and beg for mercy as he did so.

In response to that, Naruto just cracked his knuckles and started walking towards Everlue.

"No wait, you're a mage yes I have something you may want, just promise not to hurt me and you can take it and the book, just please don't hurt me." Everlue cried out as he cringed before Naruto.

Feeling slightly bad as he saw the once proud, and arrogant man grovel and cry, the blond decided to be nice. "Aright what is your offer then?"

"I have in my possession a gold Celestial Spirit Key, it is yours along with the book if you just leave now! Tell you what I will even show you how to use it just please go!" Everlue shouted out, still quivering slightly in fear as he looked at both Naruto and the two unconscious mercenary's behind the blonde.

 **( - )**

 **(A little while later)**

"Hey Kaby, Miranda I am back!" Naruto called out as he opened the door to the mansion.

Kaby upon hearing that looked up towards the door and saw the blonde, leather jacket wearing wizard stood lazily in the doorway, his eyes widening as he saw he was back so soon.

"Did you...?" Kaby asked hopefully, taking his wives hand as he looked to the blonde for an answer.

"Well not exactly..." Naruto said as he pulled the book 'Day Break' from seemingly out of nowhere. Upon seeing the book in the blonde's hands Kaby's eyes widened.

"W-Why did you bring it here? I told you to get rid of it!" Kaby suddenly yelled losing his composure slightly at the shock at having the book before him.

"Yeah I know what you asked, but you have to listen to me! This book was written by your father wasn't it?" Naruto explained to Kaby as he moved the book out of Kaby's now grasping hands.

Hesitating a bit Kaby slowly nodded his head in the affirmative before responding. "Yes, yes it was. My father... he was forced to write books for Everlue and because of it, he decided to give up on both his family and his writing and it eventually lead him to an early grave. That book is nothing but trouble, it destroyed my father and my family that is why I have to get rid of the blasted thing!" Kaby replied, gesturing for Naruto to give him the book as he took out a lighter from his pocket.

But before he could touch it the book suddenly started to shine with a bright light and the words on the cover began rearranging themselves from 'Day Break' to 'Dear Kaby'. "W-What is this?"

"When I found the book I noticed traces of magic on it, so I decided to keep it and take a look at it later. Turns out your father cast a spell on that book. He did it so that the real contents of the book wouldn't be seen by anyone else but you. Everything that was written in that book about Everlue was simply the rearranged letters of what was written to you by your father." Naruto told him as he opened the book and watched the letters leap off the page all begin floating around the three people in the room.

"Turns out the real reason why your father quit being a writer was not because he wrote the worst book ever, but because he wrote the best book. This book was everything your father wanted to tell you..." The letters all returned to the book rearranging themselves as they did so, until after they settled, Kaby opened the book only for him to see that the text was indeed different. " _You were always on my mind..._ That is what your father truly wanted to leave behind." Naruto smiled as he saw the effect his words were having on Kaby, as a father himself he could understand the true connection between father and son and with himself growing up alone and meeting an echo of his father in later life he could emphasis with Kaby.

"Dad... I never really understood him..." Kaby cried out as he continued to read the book. "T-Thank you... thank you so much I won't burn this book after all, not now I know what it truly is..."

"Alright then, it looks like my jobs done, now that's all settled I should probably head back to Fairy Tail I don't even want to know what trouble they must have all gotten into during my absence!" Naruto grinned as he made his farewells. "Well I have to say it was lovely to meet you Kaby, and you Miranda, you truly were the best bit of this mission, alas if you weren't married maybe I could have swept you off your feet?"

Upon hearing that Miranda Melon let out a little giggle before pulling the tall blond into a hug. "Thank you, you have done so much for my husband. I only wish we could give you a proper reward."

Deciding to be a bit cheesy Naruto pulled away and gave Miranda a wink and a dashing smile as he said. "Just seeing you smile is reward enough for me. Besides this mission has been far more rewarding than I ever thought it would be."

Rolling her eyes at his cheesy line both Miranda and Kaby waved to the retreating back of Naruto as he left the room. All the while wondering what the blond meant with his cryptic last comment.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So that's it, I hope you all enjoyed it. Hopefully the next update won't be that long, especially now I'm about to have a bit more time free. That being said I do have other stories I need to update.**

 **Hope you all leave a comment and a review.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Seagate.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: So here is the next chapter, I told you it wouldn't be that long until the next update. This chapter I've just cleaned up a bit, and added a few bits here and there for the sake of continuity. Hope you all enjoy it and leave a comment or a review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"Alright then, it looks like my jobs done, now that's all settled I should probably head back to Fairy Tail I don't even want to know what trouble they must have all gotten into during my absence!" Naruto grinned as he made his farewells. "Well I have to say it was lovely to meet you Kaby, and you Miranda, you truly were the best bit of this mission, alas if you weren't married maybe I could have swept you off your feet?"_

 _Upon hearing that Miranda Melon let out a little giggle before pulling the tall blond into a hug. "Thank you, you have done so much for my husband. I only wish we could give you a proper reward."_

 _Deciding to be a bit cheesy Naruto pulled away and gave Miranda a wink and a dashing smile as he said. "Just seeing you smile is reward enough for me. Besides this mission has been far more rewarding than I ever thought it would be."_

 _Rolling her eyes at his cheesy line both Miranda and Kaby waved to the retreating back of Naruto as he left the room. All the while wondering what the blond meant with his cryptic last comment._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 7**

 **( - )**

 **(Fairy Tail Guild Hall)**

"Hmm, so many requests, I wonder which one I should take?" Lucy pondered, a thoughtful look on her face as she looked at the cluttered and paper filled request board. Her large hazel eyes scanning over the many requests that littered the board, so meant that she was finding it difficult to choose which one would be her first proper mission as a member of Fairy Tail.

Some of the missions she looked at had high rewards some of which went all the way up to 500,000 Jewels and even beyond, others however were only worth 10,000 Jewels, though these ones looked significantly easier than the higher paid ones.

Unfortunately though, Lucy knew that the higher paid requests were going to be much too hard for her to take, at least if she were on her own. That being said though, if she could become a part of a team then she would be able to take on requests with much higher rewards, which is kind of what she needed to do if she were to pay her rent.

Grimacing at that thought, Lucy turned around to see if Natsu and Happy were anywhere around the Guild, they had only gotten back from their mission to save Macou a day ago, so hopefully they hadn't wandered off already. However, as she looked around the large, homely wooden hall, she saw quite a lot of the Guild members present were chuckling to themselves with smiles on their faces. Looking over to the bar she could see that even Mirajane couldn't hide a giggle. Confused by this, she decided to look in the same direction they were all looking toward, her eyes widening as she did so.

Looking up Lucy was able to see that both Natsu and Happy were hanging from the rafters of the Guild Hall, their legs hooked over the wooden beams, both of them doing what seemed to be upside down sit-ups as they did so. Of course that being said Natsu was the only one who seemed to be capable of doing, whatever it was they were doing, as Happy instead just seemed to be flailing about. Blinking in confusion as she saw this, Lucy proceeded to walk over to the still giggling Mirajane at the bar. "Hey, Mira, erm, what are Natsu and Happy doing?"

Mirajane just looked at her with an amused expression as she heard that, before responding with a slight giggle. "Oh that, they are training, or at least they are trying to. Natsu and Happy having been doing it on and off for months now, whether it be upside down push-ups, bench pressing tables or just trying to challenge anyone they can to a fight. Watching their weird training routines have become something of a hobby for some of the Guild, Cana has even turned it into a drinking game."

"Training?" Lucy repeated, looking up at the two in surprise as did so. "Natsu is really strong already what why is he training so much?"

"Oh of course you wouldn't know. Well, a couple of months back he challenged Master Naruto to a fight. This of course was when Naruto had just been named as the temporary Guild Master, unfortunately though, Natsu underestimated him and got beaten quite easily." Mirajane told the blonde a bit sadly as she too, now looked up at the exercising Natsu. "I don't know why it had such an effect on him, but ever since his defeat he has been training desperately, hoping to fight Naruto again and this time beat him."

"Wow really but Natsu seems so strong, I can't imagine him ever losing easily?" Lucy replied, her brow furrowed as she looked up at the sweating Natsu, before she looked back at the softly smiling Mira.

"Oh no don't get me wrong, Natsu is a strong wizard. His loss though, it had less to do with him being weak, and more to do with Master Naruto being overwhelmingly strong." Mirajane explained with a light shrug, collecting up a few empty tankards as she did so. "But even though he lost, it is still admirable that he is working so hard, but he has a long way to go before he will be able to defeat Master Naruto, I mean not even Laxus or Erza were able to defeat him."

Lucy looked back to Natsu and Happy as they continued working out, a hint of admiration on her face now. From what Mirajane had said Natsu had suffered a loss, but he was not giving up, and was working harder than ever to overcome his defeat, it truly was amusing to see how dedicated he was. That being said though, it did make her think about just how strong Master Naruto really was.

Deciding to find out more about the enigmatic Fourth Master of Fairy Tail Lucy once again turned to the white haired barmaid. "Hey Mira, what magic does Master use?"

"Hmm what magic does Master use. Well I know he uses a form of **'Lightning Magic'** and also a magic that he created himself, something he calls **'Energy Manipulation Magic'**. Other than that though, I am not sure if he knows any others, though he didn't mention knowing a bit about **'Transformation Magic'**." Mira mused, placing a hand on her cheek as she tried to remember if she had seen him use any other magic.

"Wow he created his own form of Magic! That's amazing, has he ever taught it to anyone else?" Lucy asked, her eyes positively sparkling with excitement now, the world of wizards and the variety of magics there were, still being pretty new to the blonde.

"No, or at least not that I'm aware of, a couple of Guild Members have asked to learn it, but he has refused every time. Whenever someone asks he always says: 'Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent that only works when the flow of energy inside of us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform magic someone must have a strong mind and the ability to focus. It should take over your being and come pouring out of your soul! True magic cannot be just taught it has to come from within, you need to feel it, know it and live it. If I were to just train you, you would become just a poor imitation of myself, to truly find yourself and the potential you possess you must forge you own path through the world.' And it has worked every time, he may not have directly trained anyone but he pushes them to find their own potential. Beneath it all he truly is good Guild Master." Mirajane responded a small smile on her face as she remembered the encouragement Naruto had given to all those who ask, something she found truly admirable.

"Woah, I just thought he was a lazy drunk but wow, he isn't what he seems is he?" A wide eyed Lucy replied, taking the words Mira just spoke to heart as she did so.

Before anymore could be said their conversation was interrupted by one Gray Fullbuster, who had just recently returned from a recent job request.

"Oi Natsu!" Lucy turned her head toward Gray as she heard him shout that. "What the hell are you doing up their!" The dark haired teen then continued to shout as he marched to just under where Natsu was working out. With Natsu not even glancing at Gray in response, though it was obvious he had heard him. Which of course only pissed Gray off even more.

"Oi! Flame brain I'm talking to you!" Gray shouted again, throwing a nearby mug at Natsu as he did so. The mug hitting the pink haired dragon slayer in the head, and causing a momentary lapse in concentration which led to Natsu falling of the wooden beam and landing headfirst on the hard wooden floor.

"What the hell you icy pervert, what the hell did you hit me for?! That's it you're going down!" Natsu shouted as he leapt to his feet and dived at the Ice Wizard, the Ice Wizard who over the course of the last ten seconds had seemed to have stripped down to his boxers, without even noticing he had.

"Bring it charcoal breath, it has been a while since I last kicked your ass!" Gray responded pulling his arm back to take a swing at Natsu as he did so, ignoring the faint shout from Cana of 'Gray clothes!' as he did so.

Then as if like clockwork the half Guild erupted into a mass brawl, with wizards who just seconds before had been drinking and laughing together instead deciding it would be more fun to fight. In fact Cana Alberona could even be seen smacking random Guild members around with an empty beer barrel. Whilst the hulk of a man that is Elfman could be seen charging into the thick of the battle with his standard 'MAAANNN!' battle cry.

Deciding to pass it off as standard Fairy Tail insanity, Lucy turned back to Mirajane, avoiding flying bottles and chairs as she did so. "Is it me Mira, or do you think Gray maybe gay? I mean he seems to strip off before every fight with Natsu, I mean it is not a bad thing but do you think Gray fancies Natsu?"

"Hmm well it honestly wouldn't surprise me, Gray has never shown any interest in girls before, I mean even Natsu and Elfman have had crushes on girls, even if they didn't know it at the time. But Gray, you know I think you may be right Lucy!" Responded Mira, a thoughtful expression on her face before it turned slightly sinister. "Now to see who I can set him up with, maybe Nab….?"

Deciding to redirect the conversation Lucy decided to ask "Hey Mira I was just wondering where is Master Naruto, shouldn't he be like breaking all of this up or something?"

"Oh Master is at an annual conference in Clover Time at the moment." Mira replied with an absentminded shrug, busying herself saving as much of the furniture and glasses as she could as she did so.

"A conference? What kind of conference would that drunk be at?!" Lucy asked incredulously, moving to give the white haired barmaid a hand cleaning up as she talked.

"Oh he's not that bad, but anyway it's a conference for all the Guild Masters in Fiore. Every once in a while they all come together so they can talk about the state of things. It's like the Magic Council, but not." Mira explained, with a shrug.

"The Magic Council, what's that supposed to be?" Lucy asked in confusion.

"Oh, that's right, you're new really, and you wouldn't know a huge amount about them yet…" Mira reasoned.

With that said Mira tapped her chin in thought as if considering something, after which she seemed to realize the perfect way to answer the blonde mage's question. Abruptly the barmaid then turned towards a nearby table, glancing at a man with a large torso wearing a white shirt and an odd-looking hat who was at that moment lying semi-conscious on the floor.

"Excuse me Reedus, may I borrow a light pen?" Mira requested kindly, her hand held out expectantly.

"O-oui." The now named Reedus shakily replied.

The white haired former Wizard then began to draw a diagram in thin air with an object that could only be described as a magical pen, the implement leaving behind glowing lines in the air as she scribbled away.

Once the diagram was complete, it was revealed to be something similar to a hierarchy of the magical organizations in the kingdom. With the drawing finished, Mira then turned to face Lucy once more.

"The Council, in Era, is one of the most powerful organizations in the magical world. It has ten members and it's their job to uphold all magical rules and regulations in Fiore. And if a Wizard breaks any magical laws they would be tried by the Council." Mira began.

Lucy picked up, specifically, on the portion in which the barmaid described the laws and regulations function of the Council. These were the people Fairy Tail probably pissed off a lot, which led the blonde to realise that it would probably be best if she kept her head down when it came to dealings with the Magic Council.

"Then there's the different Guild Masters leagues, which are local groups that work together… then the individual Masters, and it's their job to pass on the decrees of the Council. They also communicate with the other Guild Masters in Fiore on a regular basis. They are basically the glue that holds us all together… it's a pretty stressful job." Mira continued.

"I never knew all the Guilds were so interconnected." Lucy muttered.

"The system really is intricate, but also well balanced. The only real problem is the Dark Guilds, which exist outside the system itself. They're the bad apples of the magical world and are mostly involved with magical crime." Mira added on, her brow furrowing as she said this, and her tone darkening.

"They sound kinda scary." Lucy commented uncomfortably, noticing the slight tension in the blonde's voice as she did so.

Before Mira could though respond their conversation was once again interrupted, only this time is was by Loke, a young twenty something year old man with spiky orange hair, stylish glasses and a large green coat with a fur lined hood.

"Hey! Everyone!" Loke yelled as he charged into the Guild panting, his usual calm, cool and collected persona now completely absent.

"What is it?" Gray asked looking up from where he was brawling with Natsu as he did so, slightly annoyed that his fight was being so rudely interrupted.

"Erza! She's back!" Loki gasped out hoarsely.

Lucy blinked as she heard that news, not seeing what was so bad about a fellow Fairy Tail member returning. That was until she saw Gray's reaction and looked at him nervously.

"Crap!" Gray screamed in fear, roughing up his hair with his hands.

"Fuck! Someone hide me!" Natsu cried out as he lifted up his cat Happy and started trying to hide behind him, even as the cat was desperately trying to hide behind Natsu. They were not the only ones who were panicking, as everyone seemed to be scrambling about trying to clean the Guild up.

"Oh my." Mirajane smiled as she saw the effect her fellow S-class wizard had on their Guild mates.

Before Lucy had a chance to inquire as to the reason behind this reaction, the bat wing doors to the Guild swung open with bang, even as a red haired beauty confidently entered the Guild, carrying a large, decorated horn like thing above her as she did so.

In response to that Lucy could only look at her in amazement, while the others looked at the striking redhead with the opposite reaction.

"She's here..."

"Oh no, the monster is back!"

"Do you still think we could get away?!"

"I'm back." Erza Scarlet announced, placing the horn down on the floor with a slight thud as she did so. After which she then turned to Mirajane. "Is the Master here?" She then asked, her powerful voice instilling absolute silence throughout the hall.

"Wow, she's pretty." Lucy commented.

"Welcome back Erza, the Master's at a conference right now." Mira stated with a smile, leaning causally against the bar as she did so and idly brushing a lock of her silvery white hair behind her ear.

"I see." Erza replied with a nod of understanding.

' _Huh… she is nowhere near as scary as everyone was making her out to be, I thought she would be some giant demon or something from what they were saying._ ' Lucy thought bemusedly as she eyed the armoured red haired woman curiously.

The mental image that Natsu had given her while they were on their mission to find Macou was of a large monster capable of destroying mountains without any significant effort. This woman seemed nowhere near as scary as she was made out to be.

"So, umm… what's that humongous thing you've got there?" One of the Guild members asked curiously.

"It's the horn of a monster that I defeated. The locals were so thankful that they decorated it and gave it to me as a gift… do you have a problem with it?" Erza asked aggressively.

"Not at all!" The man immediately replied.

"Ok maybe a little scary then…" Lucy thought aloud.

"Now listen up." Erza commanded, causing everyone in the Guild to stiffen up as they heard this, clearly they were nervous about something.

"While I was on the road I heard a few things. Word is Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. And although Master Naruto doesn't seem to care, I most certainly do. Cana, you need to control your drinking habits…" Erza began, glancing at the brown haired mage who was once again sat at one of the tables with a new barrel of alcohol in hand.

The scarlet haired teen then began to give various commands to several of the other Guilds members, ranging from scolding them for smoking to scolding them for dancing indoors.

"She's really tearing into everyone… it's like she's completely taking over." Lucy whispered to Mira.

"That's Erza for ya." Happy stated popping up from nowhere.

"Even if she is pretty bossy… she still seems like the sanest person here. I don't get why people are so scared of her." Lucy stated.

"Are Natsu and Gray here?" Erza abruptly asked.

When this was asked, Erza turned to face the well-known Fire and Ice Wizards of Fairy Tail, as did the others who were intently listening to the woman's words in the hopes of avoiding getting scolded themselves. However, for a brief moment Lucy dropped her curiosity about Erza in favour of confusion.

Before their very eyes, Natsu and Gray stood, shaking in fear of the imposing red head, holding one another's hand in a friendly manner. It was incidentally so unnatural that Lucy almost shouted at the top of her lungs due to her own confusion.

"Aye." Natsu said.

"Oh hey there Erza, we're just hangin' out, like good friends tend to do." Gray said, clearly nervous.

"Aye." Natsu added.

"Why is Natsu talking like Happy?!" Lucy exclaimed worriedly.

"That's great, I am quite pleased to see the two of you getting along so well. However, it's only natural for even the best of friends to lock horns every now and then." Erza stated, her brown eyes twinkling in amusement as she looked between the two nervous looking Wizards.

"I don't know if we're the best of friends…" Gray trailed off.

"Aye…" Natsu stated.

"This is really, really weird…" Lucy commented in a clearly confused tone, eliciting a giggle from the white haired barmaid as she did so.

"Well it's only natural, Natsu's terrified of Erza. A few years ago he challenged her to a fight and she beat him up pretty bad, even worse than Naruto. Then she found Gray without any clothes on and decided to beat him up as well." Mira explained, sounding cheerful despite the oddity of her words.

"…actually I can understand that last one." Lucy stated.

"She also beat up Loke for trying to hit on her." Mira added.

"And I can understand that one too." Lucy said this time with a slightly sadistic gleam in her eye as she thought of the over the top flirt who had run screaming from her early that day.

"Natsu, Gray, I need you two do me a favour." Erza abruptly stated.

The mood of the Guild changed from calm and terrified, to one of deadly seriousness and surprise at the words of the redheaded knight. It very clearly, wasn't every day that she asked anyone for favours.

"While I was on my travels I heard something that has me troubled. Normally I would consult the Guild Master over something like this, but since he isn't here right now and this is a matter of utmost urgency. The two of you are the strongest wizards here and I could really use your help." Erza continued solemnly.

"Did that just happen?" Someone whispered.

"Erza, if you need help with a mission you should take Lucy, she is still new to the Guild and could definitely use the experience travelling with you, would give her!" Mirajane offered cheerfully, drawing the attention of the scarlet haired woman to the busty blonde beside her.

"I could use all the extra help I can get. If you believe she is strong enough to aid me then I will not decline your offer." Erza replied with a small smile.

"Our newest member will be more than strong enough to help you! Lucy defeated an army of Vulcan using only her pinky finger." Mira stated, a sly smile on her face as she decided that it would be for the best to metaphorically throw Lucy in at the deep end.

Lucy however sweat dropped at the words the barmaid had said, mainly because they weren't at all true. They weren't necessarily untrue as she did face down several Vulcan when she was rescuing Macou, but that was with Natsu doing most of the work, Mirajane's words just made her sound a lot more impressive than in reality.

Erza however, just stared stoically at Lucy before calmly inquiring "My apologies, but I don't recognize you. Are you new to Fairy Tail?"

"Yup, she sure is…" Mirajane stated, giving Lucy a slight push in the red headed knights direction as she did so.

"Oh? What is your name?" Erza asked with a raised brow.

"Hello Ms Erza, ma'am, I'm Lucy, it's nice to meet you." Lucy greeted nervously, desperately wanting to make a good first impression.

"Charmed, well then if you are as capable as Mira says then I need only to know one thing… can you hold your own on this mission?" Erza asked in an ominous but deadly serious tone.

"Y-yes, I think so." Lucy said nervously unable to back down now she was put on the spot.

"Very well then, the team has been made Gray, Natsu and Lucy we will meet at the train station in an hour, don't be late!" Erza said.

 **( - )**

 **(Clover Town)**

"Ahh finally here!" Naruto shouted out as he arrived at his destination, a grand old building on the edge of Clover Town.

Looking around the blonde grinned as he saw the building was positively buzzing with activity, with Guild Masters from all over Fiore arriving, some with an entourage of followers, though most were like Naruto and came by themselves. Smiling the blonde could already tell that the conference was going to be a great laugh, especially if the wagon full of alcohol that had just pulled up in front of the building had anything to say about it.

Pulling a bottle of spirits from seemingly nowhere Naruto then headed inside, nodding to any of the Guild Masters he passed as he did so. This would be his first conference, and although he was not nervous, he also wasn't sure what to expect. From what his friend Precht the Second Guild Master, and his son Makarov the Third Guild Master had said, the conference could involve anything from full on brawls like Makky had with the Guild Master of Phantom Lord a few years ago, to a massive drinking contest like the one Precht got involved in, one which put him out of commission for a week.

"Oooo, you must be the young Master Naruto, aren't you a handsome one!?" A soft, effeminate voice spoke up, the speaker being the leader of Blue Pegasus, Master Bob. A large, elderly, bald man, one who was currently wearing a tight, purple strapped shirt, pink boxers, and small, white wings on his back. On his face was some bright red lipstick and a heavy amount blush on his cheeks. "My you are a chip off the old block aren't you, why you look almost identical to how Makky and his dad Yury looked back in their youth?!"

Suffice to say Naruto barely withheld a wince when he took in what the once handsome and dignified ex-member of Fairy Tail had become. Clearly the years had not been good to him, glancing over his Bob's shoulder he saw Goldmine the Guild Master of Quarto Cerberus, looking not much different than the last time Naruto had seen him back when he was in his early twenties. He was a tall thin man, with long blonde hair, a weird hat on his head, shades and finally most unusual of all a spiked dog collar around his neck, weird.

Pulling his mind back to what Bob had just said Naruto could barely suppress a snort at the irony of being told he looked like himself. Not that he was about to correct Bob on his assumption he was a different person, after all, although he never lied about it, he also wasn't too keen on knowledge of his presence being spread around, especially since he had a lot of enemies/ annoyances out there, including a number of members of the Magic Council. "Thanks Master Bob, what can I say it is in the Dreyar family blood, we're all damn good looking!"

"Yes you are darling, now come on let's get you inside where it is nice and cozy, I have to say I've been dying to meet the sexy new Guild Master of Fairy Tail!" Bob shouted out throwing a large hairy arm around the blonde ex-shinobi's shoulders and guiding him into the Guild building, masking his own suspicions about Naruto actual identity as he did so.

"Sure Bobby old boy, let me just finish this bottle off first!" Naruto said downing his bottle of spirits before pulling out Virgo's gate key, he could sense that he would be making great use of his maid like Celestial Spirit, after all if she wants to act like a maid for her 'Master' then he wouldn't stop her, not so long as she kept him stocked up on alcohol. After all what could possibly go wrong.

 **( - )**

 **(Magnolia Train Station)**

It had been about an hour a since Erza had returned to the Guild, and already Natsu, Gray, Happy and Lucy were gathered at the train station, just as Erza had 'requested' of them earlier.

At present both Happy and Lucy were sat on a bench that was directly opposite to the tracks, and if one were to ask them, they were just say they were currently acting as casual observers to the rather interesting spectacle that was unfolding directly in front of them. With said spectacle being none other than Natsu and Gray acting out again, the two of them oblivious to the attention they were receiving as they slammed their foreheads together, insulting and shouting each other like they usually did.

"I don't know what Erza was thinking, inviting you along snow cone, especially when she already had me." Natsu scoffed, butting heads with the Ice Wizard, who over the course of his sentence had somehow lost his shirt, the dumbass.

"That's my line, and a weakling like you would just get in the way!" Gray barked back, glaring daggers at the pink haired dragon slayer as he did so.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Lucy asked Happy curiously, as the two of them watched their new 'teammates' fighting.

"I thought Mira was the one who asked you to keep them from fighting?" Happy replied slyly from his position on the bench as he looked away from the ongoing fight and instead looked over to Lucy.

"She did…" Lucy trailed off, not entirely sure what else to say.

"Well then you aren't doing a very good job…" Happy pointed out.

"Yeah well, you could at least help me you stupid cat!" Lucy snapped at Happy, for some reason quite embarrassed about how she was unable to control the two eccentric wizards.

Before their conversation could continue they were interrupted by the arrival of Erza. "Sorry I'm late. I hope you weren't waiting too long."

"No, not at all." Lucy answered cheerfully, now relieved that the stern knight could was here, and that she would soon get the other two rowdy wizards in line.

Everyone turned as one to face the scarlet haired mage upon noticing her arrival, and upon doing so several things almost immediately happened. Happy, naturally, didn't do anything different. Natsu and Gray though instantly began to act as if they were the greatest friends in the world, for obvious reasons i.e. they were terrified of her, and as for Lucy, she simply stared with wide eyes at the massive amount of luggage Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard had brought with her.

"Wow that's a lot of luggage." Lucy exclaimed in shock, staring with wide eyes at the literal cart of suitcases and bags she'd brought with her, one that seemed to be half as wide as the train they were supposed to board.

"Aye." Happy chirped.

"Are you all ready to depart?" Erza questioned in a friendly manner.

"Yeah sure Erza, whenever you are." Gray stated leaping away from Natsu as he did so, before he started searching around for his missing clothes.

"Same here." Lucy agreed.

"Hey Erza, I'll go with you, but only under one condition." Natsu shouted out, surprising several in the group.

"Shut up! Do you want to make her mad?" Gray quietly exclaimed, elbowing the dragon slayer next to him as he did so.

"Oh? Well then let's hear your terms then?" Erza said evenly, her eyes narrowing as she stared Natsu down.

"I want a rematch when we get back to Fairy Tail." Natsu stated, only adding to the shock of most everyone else.

"You got a death wish or something?" Gray asked nervously, knowing from experience the strength the red haired wizard possessed.

"I'm a lot stronger than I was last time, and this time's gonna be different, cause I'm gonna beat you. Then after you I am going to go beat Naruto!" Natsu proclaimed, grinning heavily at the prospect of fighting with some of Fairy Tail's strongest mages.

"Yes… I can tell you've improved. As to whether or not you can beat me though…, well I suppose we'll have to see. Alright then, I accept your challenge." Erza replied, smirking slightly.

"All right! Now I'm all fired up!" Natsu shouted out with a massive grin, fist pumping the air as he did so.

 **( - )**

 **(On the train)**

A half an hour later found the train running smoothly along the tracks as it rapidly chugged its way to its next stop, Oniba Station. However despite how smooth the journey was, Fairy Tail's resident dragon slayer, who had been so energetic just moments before they boarded the train was now hunched over with motion sickness, barely able to move without groaning in discomfort.

"I swear you're totally pathetic Natsu. One minute you're picking a fight with Erza and the next you're like this." Gray stated as he ignored the groaning Natsu, and instead looked out the window off to his side.

"It's gotta be tough on him getting from place to place." Lucy reasoned.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Why don't you come over and sit with me?" Erza offered.

 _'I guess she wants me to move over_ …' Lucy thought, sweat dropping at the lack of choice she was given, courtesy of Fairy Tail's queen.

"Aye…" Natsu groaned.

A moment later the fire dragon slayer moved across to the other side of the seating arrangements and placed himself to the immediate right of the scarlet haired mage. An instant after that, said mage abruptly punched him in the gut and knocked him out cold.

"That should make the trip a little easier on him." Erza reasoned.

 _'Ok maybe she isn't as sane as I thought she was…'_ Lucy thought.

"Anyway, I think it's time you started filling us in. I mean what kind of mission are we going on here?" Gray questioned.

"Of course…" Erza began, paying no mind that they were technically short one pair of ears. "I have reason to believe that the Dark Guild, Eisenwald, is planning something big. I'm not sure what exactly but it has something to do with a magical item, one called, Lullaby." Erza continued ignoring the fact that Natsu was unconscious.

"Lullaby, why does that name sound so familiar?" Lucy wondered aloud.

"You've heard of it before?" Erza asked in a surprised tone.

"Yeah I think I have read something about it before, it is on the tip of my tongue but I can't quite remember it…" Lucy ground out, frustrated she wasn't able to remember.

"I will explain starting at the beginning then… I had stopped in Oniba at a local pub, one that was considered a gathering spot for local wizards, and whilst there I overheard a conversation, and…" Erza began.

In the following minutes the scarlet haired woman then went on to explain word for word what the nearby table of wizards had said, and the ominous feeling that she had had when she had been listening. The name of Lullaby and a seal having come up multiple times, and even in one instance the name of a very wanted criminal in the magical world.

"Wait, so they were trying to unseal it?" Lucy reasoned, as she then looked around at the other wizards in the carriage.

"Yes, but the fact that it was sealed away means that it has to be extremely powerful magic." Erza replied. "I can't believe I was such a fool that day. If I had only recognized the name they said… Erigor… the Ace of Eisenwald. A Dark Wizard who only ever accepts assassination requests and that has earned him the title Erigor the Reaper." Erza replied.

"He kills for money?" Lucy asked fearfully.

"When the Council outlawed assassination requests, Eisenwald decided that money was more important. They broke away and have been active ever since." Erza replied with a shrug, her brow furrowed at the existence of such a Guild.

"Okay, I should be heading back home now…" Lucy said fearfully, faux-tears streaming from her eyes.

"Lucy's slimy all of a sudden." Happy stated.

"It's sweat." Lucy growled.

"How could I have been so foolish? If I had recognized Erigor's name sooner I could have done something. Now we're in this situation and it is all my fault." Erza shouted out again, slamming her armoured fist directly into the side of Natsu's head in frustration as she did so.

"That doesn't matter now, all we know is that something big is probably going down and we need to stop whatever it is." Gray stated.

"Yes your right that is the most important thing, Eisenwald is a Dark Guild, and they will not care if innocent people are hurt, we must stop them before they can do any harm." Erza added.

"Anyway, if we're done with this topic…, what kind of magic do you use, Erza?" Lucy asked, curiosity currently winning out over her fear of the Dark Guild at the moment. "If you don't mind me asking of course, I just thought it might be a good idea if we're all supposed to be working together as a team?"

"That's a good question." Erza replied.

"Erza's magic is really pretty. She makes her enemies bleed… a lot." Happy said in an upbeat manner.

"I don't know if I'd call that pretty." Lucy replied.

"I don't know about that… personally I think Gray's magic is much more beautiful." Erza stated.

"What, like this?" Gray asked, before without another word the black haired teen extended his hands, one of his palms open and the other hand forming a fist atop the first. An instant later an icy mist surrounded his hands before he opened his fist shortly thereafter, revealing a perfectly formed ice sculpture of the Fairy Tail guild mark.

"Oh wow!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I use **'Ice Magic'**." Gray stated.

"Now I get why you and Natsu don't get along. He's fire and your ice, not exactly the perfect mix." Lucy reasoned.

"I never thought about it like that." Erza said bemusedly.

"Nah, I just hate his guts…" Gray stated casually, maybe too casually.

After that there was silence, as each of the conscious mages reflected on the difficulties that lay ahead.

" _Attention all passengers, we have arrived at Oniba Station. Please exit calmly and efficiently._ " The conductor could be heard shouting out.

"Alright, let's get going." Erza stated, immediately getting up and heading towards the doors of the

 **( - )**

 **(Oniba Station, a Minute Later)**

"Finally, now we can start on our mission." Erza stated happily as she disembarked the train, the scarlet haired knight now being under the impression that they could immediately get to work and erase her previous error in judgment. However, she had overlooked something rather obvious.

"Wait, where's Natsu?" Gray wondered aloud.

The train's horn sounded off a second later as the train pulled away, which drew the glance of everyone in the group. In that instant they each realized that they had made great error.

"Uh-oh, there he goes." Happy muttered, waving goodbye towards the train as it zipped away.

"I was so busy talking I forgot about him. I am such a fool, Natsu hates all forms of transportation." Erza said, mentally berating herself for such an obvious error. "Come we must get Natsu!"

 **( - )**

 **(On board the Train, With Natsu)**

"Ohh… g-god! I hate my… life…" Natsu groaned from the floor of the train.

He had tried desperately to make it out of the booth, but unfortunately he didn't have a follow up plan. Fate just seemed to be a cruel mistress to the friendly dragon slayer at the moment.

"Well what do we have here?" An arrogant sounding voice asked, to seemingly no one in particular.

 _'Blergh, who the hell is that?'_ Natsu though confusedly as he tried to angle himself so he could see the speaker.

Although he didn't know who exactly this man was, he suddenly no longer required that information upon the man's foot coming into contact with his face. He was positive that at the very least this guy was no friend of his.

"You little flies are nothing more than ants to us, blindly following the Magic Council like little insects. Against the majesty of Eisenwald you truly are pathetic" The man then sneered.

In a fit of both rage and determination the dragon slayer pushed the man's foot off of his face, in essence creating a bit of space for himself and simultaneously getting a good look at the person who had so rudely insulted him and his Guild.

The man who stood across from him had spiky black hair wrapped in a band, black eyes, and a cocky disposition. He wore a pure white overcoat overtop dark-red t-shirt, teal-coloured pants, and standard-looking black shoes.

"Listen buddy, don't go talking smack about my Guild, not unless you wanna get pounded!" Natsu warned, his fists lighting up with fire as he spoke, trying to struggle to his feet as he did so.

An instant later the transport shifted slightly and even that slight movement caused the dragon slayer to stumble and nearly lose the contents of his stomach. His threatening demeanour disappearing just as quickly as his flaming fists in the wake of his crippling motion sickness.

"Hit a nerve did I?" The man questioned in an amused voice.

"Shut up!" Natsu barked.

"Hehehe… let me show you how it's done." The man sneered.

Following in from that, beneath his feet three shadowy tendrils made their way through the wooded floor, and popped back up only when they were close enough to land a clean hit directly on the pink haired dragon slayer.

Which was especially bad for Natsu, as he was helpless at the moment and as a result couldn't do anything but allow the attack to hit him, subsequently after which though he landed on his side, flat on the wooden floor of the train.

"Not so tough now, are ya?" The Dark Wizard then scoffed, shadow manifested arms twirling around his being as he did so.

In the next instant, before the Dark Wizard could mount another successfully attack, the train came to a complete stop, thereby causing him to fall flat on his face. Out of his pocket, a small wooden flute like object with a creepy three eyed skull sculpted on one end, fell, with the odd flute landing on the floor half-way between the two.

 **( - )**

 **(Oniba Station)**

"Ma'am, you can't just pull the emergency lever without permission." A station worker stated.

"It's for our comrades, please understand." Erza replied.

"Are you kidding me?!" The man exclaimed.

 **( - )**

 **(Back on the Train)**

"What the heck is that thing?" Natsu wondered aloud, his dark eyes shifting from the sneering Dark Wizard, and instead over to the odd-looking flute that had flown out of the white-clad man's pocket.

"Damn, he saw it." The man stated in an annoyed tone, his face twisting up in irritation.

Instantly after that the man then ran over to the flute and grabbed it, quickly putting it back into his pocket before he opted to face the Fairy Tail wizard once again. Knowing as he did so that he would have to quickly eliminate the Fire Wizard now, otherwise this entire situation could very well get out of hand, or at least more so than it already had.

"Ha, you're all out of luck, now it is time for me to kick your ass." Natsu shouted in response, raising his now flaming fists as he did so. However before he could leap at the shadow using wizard in front of him the train started moving again, causing Natsu to once again collapse onto the floor, assaulted by motion sickness once again. "Timeout?"

Unfortunately though, the mage opposite wasn't in the mood for mercy, which is why he summoned his shadows, forming them into spear like blades as he did so. The pink haired man had seen the flute, and so he couldn't be allowed to live.

Before the shadow mage could land a fatal hit though, Natsu, sensing the killing intent from the mage leapt into action, momentarily ignoring his motion sickness as he instead embraced all the training he had been doing in the last few months and summoned forth massive amounts of **'Fire Magic'** , which he then released in an explosion of flame.

"Aaaaaaaa!" Natsu yelled as he flew through the air propelled from the destroyed cart by his own explosive attack, the train shooting past him as he flew out of it.

Only to collide with a magic mobile, a car like object fuelled by magic, which had conveniently been driving alongside the fast moving train at the time.

When Natsu hit the car-like vehicle, the dragon slayer had, in a fashion typical of him, collided with Gray on the roof of the odd looking form of transportation, smashing them both off of the car and onto the unforgiving ground. Luckily though the natural durability of mages saved them both from any serious damage, but they would certainly be feeling sore in the morning.

"Erza, stop the magic mobile!" Lucy exclaimed from within the vehicle, obviously knowing full well that Gray was no longer on the roof.

A few moments later the car screeched to a stop, as Erza, Lucy and Happy quickly got out and headed in the direction of their teammates.

"That hurt you idiot!" Gray shouted loudly at Natsu, once the group had gathered outside of the now parked magic mobile.

"What the hell was I supposed to do? It's your fault for being on the roof in the first place!" Natsu countered irritably, rubbing his head as he did so, his expression somewhat sour as he looked from Gray, to the train, which was disappearing into the distance.

"Aye." Happy said in agreement.

"In any case, I'm just glad you're alright." Erza stated.

"Yeah I am fine, I was nearly killed on the train though, by some Eisenwald bastard who tried to impale me with his magic!" Natsu said stretching his battered muscles as he did so.

"Damn Natsu did you just say Eisenwald! You just allowed one of our enemies to escape due to your own stupidity. Have you anything to say for yourself?" Erza said fiercely, clearly agitated.

"Wait a sec, who are we even fighting?!" Natsu shouted confusedly.

"Don't you ever listen?! I swear you have the world's worst memory!" Erza exclaimed, smacking the dragon slayer upside the head as she spoke.

"Ermm Erza, don't you remember you knocked him out back on the train!" Lucy nervously spoke up, not understanding how the scarlet haired mage didn't realize that.

Erza turned with a somewhat surprised expression as she heard that, an expression that suggested she was only just now realizing her mistake. Immediately thereafter she bowed her head to the pink haired dragon slayer and shut her eyes before next she spoke.

"I apologize for my insolence. You may strike me down for my penance." Erza said in a serious voice.

"No, no-one is going to hit you Erza, just fill barbecue breath in on what's going on once we get back in the car and start following that train." Gray suggested.

"That seems as if it is the best course of action." Erza conceded, nodding in agreement.

"Damn it, why is everyone in Fairy Tail insane? I wonder what Naruto is doing at that conference that is so important that he is not here helping his Guild?" Lucy muttered as she followed the rest of her team back to the car, already dreading what was to come, as they were now likely going to be actively pursuing a dangerous Dark Guild.

 **( - )**

 **(In Clover Town)**

At that very same moment in Clover Town, Naruto was in the midst of a wild drinking contest with the other assembled Guild Masters.

"Hey Naruto, get your drink on, you need to get WILD!" The leader of Quarto Cerberus, Master Goldmine bellowed enthusiastically, the rake thin man leaning against a wooden table, a stein of mean in hand, one which he was about to chug at any moment.

"Yes Naruto darling, get that pretty little maid of yours to bring you some more booze, I mean you can still walk in a straight line!" Master Bob shouted out from his own seat across the table, where he seemed to be holding two other struggling Guild Masters in headlocks, their heads buried into his armpits.

"Hey I am still several bottles ahead of both of you, but you do have a point, I do need another drink, hey Virgo!" Naruto shouted as he sat on one of the tables, holding a half-eaten leg of some kind of meat in his right hand as he did so, and an empty tankard in his left one.

"Yes Master you called?" Virgo asked, the Celestial Spirit now taking the shape of a beautiful, slender pink haired, blue eyed woman, who at that moment was wearing a French maids outfit, with strange manacles attached to her wrists. A form Naruto found far more pleasing than the one she had assumed whilst she was serving Duke Everlue. "Is it punishment time?"

"Oh Naru you deviant, are you playing BDSM with your maid. Though tell me is there room for a little one?" Bob said releasing the two other Guild Masters as he covered his face with one of his hair hands, giggling as he did so.

"Sigh, no it is not like that, Virgo just has some kinky fetishes, which we are going to have to talk about later. I mean if she is serious then…" Naruto spoke up before letting out a sigh, already thinking of how troublesome that would be. That being said of all the quirks the spirit could have, this one would at least be amusing. "But anyway, no it is not punishment time yet Virgo. Instead, could you do me a favour and get me another couple bottles of ale from the bar?"

"Of course Master, and then will it be punishment time? I was thinking of hot candle wax tonight and then maybe a bit of light spanking, you know to start off our partnership easy, before we can then get onto harder stuff later?" Virgo replied with a straight face, causing half the Guild Masters listening in to choke in shock at her statement.

"Fufufufu" Bob giggled.

"Oh Virgo, where have you been all my life?" Naruto sighed out in amusement at his Celestial Spirits antics.

"In the Celestial Spirit World Master…."

"Sigh, I didn't mean that literally Virgo…"

"Oh ok, not in the Celestial Spirit World Master…."

"Better make it a round dozen bottles Virgo, I think I am going to need them."

"Yes Master and maybe some candle wax to?"

"Just… gahh sure and some candle wax too"

"Coming right up Master." Virgo replied before turning away and heading to the bar, a slight skip in her step as she went, with her occasionally slapping away the wandering hands of some of the drunker and more lecherous Guild Masters and Mistresses as she did so.

"Damn you're lucky Master Naruto, where did you find a wild girl like that?" Goldmine spoke up enviously, leaning his head on one of his hands, as his gaze followed the lithe form of Virgo as she headed to the bar.

"Oh that, I was given it by Duke Everlue in return for not sending him to prison, not that it helped him much, after all from what I heard the rune knight arrested him the day after I left anyway." Naruto replied casually before digging back into the leg of meat he was holding.

"Oh Naruto, you're such a bad boy aren't you?" Bob giggled. Before being interrupted by an unusual messenger, which flew into the room, attracting all of the nearby Guild Masters attentions.

"Master Naruto, Master Naruto," A little blue bird with a black hat called out as it flew through the crowded hall, heading in the direction of the blonde Guild Master. "I have a message from Miss Mirajane." It continued, before dropping a letter into Naruto's hands.

"Ah, thanks." Naruto said absentmindedly as he opened the letter, revealing a small projection of Mirajane.

 _"Hello Master, I hope the conference is going well._ " The beautiful holographic projection of Mirajane said, a kind smile on her face as she sent Naruto a half wave.

An assortment of hoots could be heard around him when a good deal of those old perverts saw it was Fairy Tail's famous cover girl.

 _"Master, there is something I need to inform you about."_

"Okay, lay it on me sweetheart."

"Erza came back the other day…" She began.

 _'Damn I have a bad feeling about this, please don't say she threw out all the booze again, I don't think either me or Cana would last through another alcohol free week.'_ Naruto thought his brow furrowed as he looked down at Mira, listening as she gave him a brief outline of what had occurred.

 _"… and that's when Erza, Natsu, Happy, Gray and the new girl Lucy formed a team to deal with the issue. I also sent Lucy to go with them too, so she could keep try and help out, since I figured you would want to keep track of her progress. Have fun at the meeting, and I hope you come back soon!_ " The projection finished, a cheerful smile on her face as she gave him one more wave before she faded away.

"Meh, that's not so bad, I mean what kind of trouble could that lot really get into?" Naruto spoke up with a slight grin, relieved it wasn't anything more serious.

"Here is the candle wax Master, and I even found a whip…"

"That's good Virgo, but you forgot the booze!"

"Oh no, I suppose it is punishment time then isn't it?"

 **( - )**

 **AN: Ahh I forgot how fun writing Virgo's character is, and am actually pretty pleased she has been introduced as I will be developing her character much more as I think she has a lot of potential. Plus I love all her strange quirks and the way she and Naruto interact.**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed it.**

 **See you later.**

 **Seagate.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: So here is the next chapter, I was originally going to be updating my story Dead Man Walking and Limitless, however they are taking longer than I thought, so in the meantime I thought I would get this chapter out first. Hope you all enjoy and leave a comment or a review.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"Erza came back the other day…" She began._

 _'Damn I have a bad feeling about this, please don't say she threw out all the booze again, I don't think either me or Cana would last through another alcohol free week.' Naruto thought his brow furrowed as he looked down at Mira, listening as she gave him a brief outline of what had occurred._

 _"… and that's when Erza, Natsu, Happy, Gray and the new girl Lucy formed a team to deal with the issue. I also sent Lucy to go with them too, so she could keep try and help out, since I figured you would want to keep track of her progress. Have fun at the meeting, and I hope you come back soon!" The projection finished, a cheerful smile on her face as she gave him one more wave before she faded away._

 _"Meh, that's not so bad, I mean what kind of trouble could that lot really get into?" Naruto spoke up with a slight grin, relieved it wasn't anything more serious._

 _"Here is the candle wax Master, and I even found a whip…"_

 _"That's good Virgo, but you forgot the booze!"_

 _"Oh no, I suppose it is punishment time then isn't it?"_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 8**

 **( - )**

 **(In Oshibana Town)**

"So Natsu, what can you tell us about this mage that beat the crap out of you?" Gray asked somewhat provocatively as he lounged in the back seat of the magic mobile, his dark eyes resting lazily on his rival, the pink haired Dragon Slayer looking particularly disgruntled at the moment.

"Hey he didn't beat the crap out of me, he just got a lucky hit in is all. But anyway, the guy was weird, and I mean creepy weird, he used some sort of ' **Shadow Magic'** and was carrying this kind of weird flute around with him." Natsu said, shrugging slightly as he said that, not sure how else to describe the angry Dark Wizard.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked carefully, her hazel eyes moving over to the pink haired Dragon Slayer now, a look of slight concern on her face.

"Hmmm, yeah what Lucy?" Natsu replied, leaning backwards as he did so.

"You said you saw that the Eisenwald member you were fighting had a flute with him." Lucy then asked, with Natsu nodding along in confirmation. "Tell me... did the flute look to be made of wood and had a three eyed skull on it?" Natsu paused as he heard that, thinking back for a while before answering.

"Yeah, come to think of it. It was exactly like that." Natsu said, with a nod, an odd look on his face as he looked over at Lucy curiously now.

Lucy's eyes widened as she heard that, before she bit her lip.

"Lucy, do you know something?" Gray asked, also curious now as he leant forward in his seat.

"Lucy, we need whatever information we can get. So please, tell us." Erza said, having overheard the blonde's conversation with the son of Igneel.

Lucy gulped audibly before replying. "That flute... That is Lullaby. After all Lullaby is actually called by another name. The 'Song of Death'. As when Lullaby is played, it is said to release a massive curse upon those who hear it, killing them almost instantly. I've only read about it, but that is Lullaby. The Death Curse."

Silence filled the four-wheeler for a while at that, before suddenly Erza pumped a bit more magic into the magic four wheelers S.E plug.

"We have to hurry then." Erza stated resolutely, the bursting forwards rapidly at that, causing the four wheeler to roar through the streets of Oshibana as it headed toward the station, with Natsu's face suddenly going green at this, before he brought his hand up to his mouth, another bout of motion sickness now hitting him.

 **( - )**

 **(At Oshibana Station)**

About ten minutes later found Natsu and the other Fairy Tail members finally arriving in front of the Oshibana Town train station, the group quickly dismounting the vehicle and looking around the area, or rather in Natsu's case he slid from the vehicle and lay on the floor groaning.

Either way the other members of Fairy Tail's strongest team, quickly saw just how busy the area was, with there being a large swarm of civilians congregating on mass in front of the stations main staircase, with them only being held back from entering it by a line of stoic, armoured Rune Knights, who were at present forming a wall with their spears and shields in front of the station.

"Please step back ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid that the station is currently closed due to a train derailment!" One of the blue-clad railway workers shouted through a megaphone from his position behind the line of soldiers, walking backwards and forwards as he did so, trying desperately to disperse the crowd of curious and irritable civilians.

"Do you reckon anyone here is actually buying that crap?" Gray sneered loudly, as he and the rest of their group waded through the crowd of civilians, Erza making her presence known as she bulled forwards, knocking anyone foolish enough to stand in her way to one side as she marched towards the station, her expression stern and uncompromising.

"Who cares, we can help them fix the train tracks after we defeat Eisenwald!" Natsu said obliviously as he bounced along beside Gray, his previous motion sickness now completely masked by his excitement for the upcoming fight. The excitement on his face clear for all to see.

"Are you serious!?" Gray shouted out after he heard what Natsu said, his expression incredulous at the Dragon Slayer's idiocy.

"Wait… where'd Erza go?" Lucy wondered aloud before Natsu and Gray could start fighting, looking away from the arguing Ice Wizard and Fire Wizard as he did so. With the other two, and Happy, all soon joining her as they tried to find where their fearless leader hand disappeared off to, though to no avail, as no one else in their group seemed to have the answer.

"We ask that all of you remain calm!" The uniformed railway worker continued to shout, his attention still on the muttering crowd, only for him to pause as he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder.

"I found her!" Happy exclaimed happily form where he was flying just above the group of three, the flying blue cat pointing at the redheaded woman as he did so. The woman in question having just come up from behind the guard, somehow bypassing the line of soldiers as she did so.

"What's going on here?" Erza asked sternly.

"Why would I tell you lady?" The man asked in response, sweat dropping slightly at her sudden appearance.

In the next instant the scarlet haired woman sent him flying to the ground with a singular head-butt, effectively knocking him out before moving on to the next worker.

"What's going on?" Erza repeated. This time though she waited for only a second, and when the man didn't answer she reacted much the same as prior, once again knocking him out with a head butt.

"You're kidding me…" Lucy trailed off, watching in disbelief as Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard first questioned, and then later incapacitated the remainder of the blue-clad conductors in the exact same manner that she had the first, complete ignoring the fact she was being watched by the startled faces of the surrounding Rune Knight as she did so.

"It seems like her questioning methods might be a little bit counterproductive..." Lucy then continued, a deadpan expression on her face as she watched how Erza continued to 'question' the railway workers.

"Erza's got her own way of getting things done." Gray commented, waving off Lucy's concerns as he did so.

"Where are your clothes?!" Lucy shouted in response as she turned to give Gray a sarcastic reply, only for her to then notice his distinct lack of clothing.

"Dammit!" Gray shouted in response, noticing as he did so that he was once again in his boxers.

Before anymore could be said on the issue, the group of four were interrupted by Erza, the scarlet-haired mage in question walked up to the group, once more sweeping aside any soldiers or civilians that got in her way as she did so, the expression on her face intensely serious as she looked between the squabbling Fairy Tail mages sternly.

Her actions at the very least clearing the way for the group to go into the railway station and discover for themselves just what was happening in there. With Erza's reputation as a powerful mage clearly preceded her as the Rune Knights and civilians got out of her way, though the line of unconscious men who got in her way also probably helped.

"Eisenwald is inside already, let's go." Erza ordered upon reaching them, receiving a firm nod from everyone else present, before she turned on her heel and led them towards the large stone building, her expression resolute as she prepared to face the murderous Dark Guild head on.

 **( - )**

 **(Inside the Train Station)**

"The Council's Rune Knights have apparently already sent in a small unit to scout out the situation, and if possible supress the enemy. But as of yet, they've not returned. My guess that they were caught in battle by the Eisenwald forces, and lost." Erza stated simply as she led the way, the others all following behind her.

A few minutes later as they entered the building, the group of five soon came across, at the far end of the atrium, near the bottom of a staircase, the very same unit of Rune Knights that the scarlet-haired mage had been referencing.

With all of them lying prone on the stone floor, or slumped over on the steps, or over the marble bannister, none of the dozen or so men moving as the group approached, all of them seemingly unconscious.

Lucy as a newbie to this kind of thing, shuddered at the distant sight, but everyone else merely scowled at the implications. If they didn't know before, now they definitely knew that the Dark Guild, Eisenwald, was here in the station, and that they meant business.

"They've been completely wiped out." Happy said fearfully, his position hovering above the group, on his white wings, giving him a much better view than the others.

"They went up against an entire Guild, and a Dark one at that. A small contingent of soldiers like this would be no match for such a powerful group, not when the Rune Knights rely on quantity over quality when it comes to their recruitment." Erza stated as she jogged over to where the prone soldiers lay, before as she reached them, she rested one the nearest knights' head on her lap.

"Sir, wake up. We have a few questions about what happened and who did this to you all?" Erza demanded, wanting to get a better picture of just how many Dark Wizards they would be up against, and perhaps some information on their magic.

The Rune Knight in her arms however gave her no answer but instead only a blank stare, his face set in an expression of absolute terror and his eyes glazed over. In response to this, Erza stared at the man for a few seconds before she rested her index and middle fingers against the man's neck, her expression sombre, and his blank stare sending chills down her spine.

A few moments later she frowned deeply as she carefully rested the Rune Knight back on the ground, lowering his eyelids as she did so, before rigor mortis set in.

"He's dead."

"T-they're all dead" Natsu spoke up his face pale and his shock apparent as he locked eyes with the red haired knight. Erza's own eyes widening as she heard that, before she drew her sword and turned on the spot scanning the area for a hint of the ones responsible.

"Who could have done something so horrible? Who could have killed these Rune Knights like this, just for doing their jobs!? A lesser Dark Guild like Eisenwald wouldn't dare to kill Rune Knights, they should know something like this would be a get them a death sentence from the Magic Council" Erza snarled tightening her grip on her sword as she did so.

"Do you think it could have been Eisenwald using Lullaby." Gray suggested, not quite as shocked as Natsu having seen a similar scene of devastation before, when the demon Deliora destroyed his own home, far away from the country of Fiore.

Similarly Erza was also used to such sights, repulsive though she found them. After all she had spent several years of her early life as a slave, and had seen many people die, with one of them dying for her, his body spread out in front of her, as he gave his own life shielding her from a blast of fire. On top of that she was an S-Class mage, and had gone on missions which involved the destruction of murderous Guilds and monsters.

"Possibly." Erza muttered as she looked down at the one she had just touched, before looking around at the others. "I can see no marks on them, but at the same time I would have thought Death Magic would have been instantaneous. These men, they all have looks of terror on their faces!"

"Maybe they suffocated?" Grey muttered as he turned one of the men over, noticing as he did so the red marks on his neck, marks which looked to have been made by the man's own finger nails scrabbling at his throat.

"Perhaps." Erza muttered, her gaze stony now, "Magic is a wonderful thing, but it is also deadly. There are so many different kinds out there, who knows what they used to kill these men."

"Well they are a Dark Guild, one that mainly took assassination missions." Gray muttered, "So they probably have a lot of practice."

"Even so, to kill Rune Knight like this. It's basically a declaration of war against the Magic Council." Erza muttered as she turned to look at the others. "It is also a declaration of how serious they are, and how far they are willing to go!"

"I would have thought that was all obviously, after all they did steal the Lullaby Flute, and are intending to use it." Gray replied his tone slightly bitter as he looked around and saw all this wasted life.

"Come one, quickly now, we cannot tally, not when Eisenwald still possesses Lullaby. After all they could be about to use Lullaby at any moment, and we don't know how far its effects can spread or whether there are any civilians still here, or any being kept as hostages." Erza spoke up, already striding ahead of the others, trying to hurry the more naive and innocent members of their group like Natsu and Lucy away from the decimated unit of Rune Knights.

"B-but if they are only in the train station, how could the town's people be affected by the song?" Natsu finally asked, tearing his gaze away from the corpses and covering his nose with his hand as he did so, hoping to stop the stench of death from overwhelming his senses. The Dragon Slayer still in a state of shock from what he had just seen, after all he had been a wizard for a wild now, but this was the first time he had ever seen a dead body.

"Natsu, all train stations have a sound system in them, which can reach both those inside the building and those outside of it. It is what allows for passengers to hear when a train is coming or leaving, and the sound if amplified could probably reach the entire town. And think about it, if the people of Oshibana Town can hear those announcements, then they will be able to hear the song of Lullaby if it is played through the sound system." Lucy explained as she hurried along, her gaze set resolutely forward as she tried not to look back at the stark reminder that this world they lived in, a world of magic and wonder, was not all sunshine and rainbows, and that magic could be used for both great good, and also horrific evil.

 **( - )**

 **(A few minutes later)**

It was a few minutes later that the group of Fairy Tail wizards finally arrived at the railway stations main platform, each of them prepared for any ambush or potential trap that might have been laid by the occupying Dark Wizards.

Or at least two of them were, with Lucy, Happy, and Natsu not really being in the right state of mind or condition to think about such things, not after the scene of death and destruction they had just left. One made all the more terrifying by just how those men had died, not through any noticeable violence, but instead silently and in terror, with their being not a mark left on them.

A few moments later, when the group finally entered the main room, a loud, sneering voice greeted them, the tone a mix of arrogance, anger and amusement

"Hahaha… welcome, step into our parlour Fairy Tail flies!" The loud voice spoke up, the source being tall, skinny man, who was currently floating above one of the stations loudspeakers, whilst leaning on a giant scythe that had a skull on the top, a dark smile on his face, and a slightly high-pitched chuckle leaving his lips.

Looking up at him, the group could see that he was a tall, lean, man with spiky, silver hair that hung down the left side of his face. With his attire consisting of a black scarf, no shirt, a long ragged hakama skirt under a black cloth with a shorter cream skirt used as a belt. #though the most striking thing about the man, were his sharp, hawk like features, and his cold empty eyes, devoid of any real emotion save for rage and hatred.

Instantly Erza recognised this man, as the feared Ace of Eisenwald, Erigor the Shinigami, a powerful A-Class, borderline S-Class Mage.

"Are you Erigor?" Erza asked, wanting confirmation first before she acted.

Her question merely causing the floating Dark Wizard to chuckle again in reply, the large mass of other Dark Wizards standing on the platform all laughing along with him, the thirty or so men and women all leering and sneering at the assembled Fairy Tail mages.

From amongst this group the black haired, shadow wielding wizard from the train scowled when he saw Natsu, his white clothes completely burned and singed, and the left side of his face, from his chin to his forehead, looking like it had been partially melted, the skin an angry, shiny red colour, with his left ear now gone, leaving behind nothing more than a puckered red hole. "You damn fucking flies! Look what your fire did to me, you bastard! Look how you fucking disfigured me, you fucking, fuckity, fuck, fucker!"

Natsu took a step back at this, though not at the angry expletives the man was hurling his way. But instead because he was shocked by the amount of damage his flames had done. After all from his experience, most of his fire attacks left light burns and aching limbs, not the amount of damage the shadow wizard was showing. Though obviously Natsu could see he must have lost control, and caused far more damage than he had intended.

In fact the sight, in all honesty frightened him a bit, as never before had he realised the true danger of his fire, or how much it needed to be controlled.

"What are you bastards planning to do with Lullaby?" Gray finally spoke up, taking the following silence as his que, as he now shouted at the assembled Dark Guild in front of him, especially after he saw the effect the badly, burned Dark Wizard was having on Natsu. "If you tell us now we may take it easy on you!"

Erigor simply laughed as he heard that before he flew up into the air, the mocking tone of his laughter echoing around the large platform. "Control yourself Kageyama, you will have you vengeance, trust me. We have gone too far and done too much to allow this scum to leave here alive. But first, before we kill them, tell me flies what do train stations have?"

"He's flying!" Lucy stated in shock, tearing her eyes away from the mess the now named Kageyama's face was and instead looking up at the dangerous Dark Wizard.

"He's using **'Wind Magic'**." Happy pointed out landing on Natsu shoulder as he did so.

Erza however was more focused on what Erigor was implying, currently uncaring as to the injury sustained by the Dark Wizard, as she instead focused on what he was saying, already assuming that Lucy had guessed right before. "Are you planning to broadcast Lullaby?!"

Erigor once again laughed at the Fairy Tail mages. "Thousands of nosy people are outside this station right now. Maybe if I were even to raise the volume the whole town might hear it. Lullaby's beautiful Cursed Song."

Erza gritted her teeth in anger at that. "You would commit the mass-murder of thousands of innocent people. Why, surely you know you will not get away with this?!"

Erigor answered Erza's question with a mocking grin. "For cleansing. A cleansing of fools who flaunt their rights while living their lives. Unaware that some people have had those very same rights stolen from them. It is a sin to live obliviously in this unfair world. So the Shinigami has come to punish them."

"Your rights were taken away because you kept taking illegal jobs! How will this indiscriminate mass murder help return your rights?!" Lucy yelled indignantly, having never heard of cruelty, or stupidity on this scale before. After all the majority of Dark Guilds, from what she had heard, were a little rough and often a little morally ambiguous when it came to clients, but they were not this cruel, or this sadistic.

"We don't want rights anymore. No, now we only want power! With that we can wipe the past clean and control our future!" Erigor replied triumphantly, the disenfranchised Dark Wizards below him all cheering and shouting as they heard that.

"You're all idiots if you think that is going to work!" Gray shouted drawing on his **'Ice Make Magic'** as he did so.

"Too bad you flies will be unable to see the new age of darkness." Kageyama, the injured shadow user spat out, before he knelt down and sent out his shadows to attack Lucy and Natsu, the shadows taking the form of spear like tentacles as they shot across the ground.

Seeing this Lucy fearfully jumped backwards, completely caught by surprise by the sudden attack. In fact she likely would have been hit if Natsu hadn't already finally gotten control of himself and burst into action, his hands covered in fire as he destroyed the blade like shadows with his flames. "You're fight is with me Kageyama! It's not with her!"

It was after this little skirmish that the Fairy Tail mages began squaring up to the Dark Guild members the tension between the two groups rising exponentially, as both sides drew on their magic, multiple magic circles already beginning to form between the two groups, even as Lucy pulled out one of her golden keys, her hands shaking nervously.

"There sure are a lot of them." Natsu remarked, still slightly pale, but beginning to get his bravado back as his dark eyes scanned over the sneering and jeering Dark Wizards.

"Yeah enough for all of us to have some fun." Gray responded, a false smile on his face as he also eyed them up, wondering as he did when the tense standoff would come to an end, and when the actual fighting would start.

"Ready yourselves, this fight will be quick and brutal." Erza then spoke up, her brown eyes locked on the shifting Dark Wizard's in front of her, and her tone stern and uncompromising. "If any of you want to walk away, do so now. Otherwise prepare yourselves!"

"Ermm is she talking to us or them?" Lucy asked, looking to both Gray and Natsu for an answer, only for her to see that the pair of them weren't listening, and were instead glaring at the Eisennwald members.

"I'll leave the rest to you." Erigor suddenly shouted to his Guild, as he rose higher into the air twirling his bloodstained scythe as he did so, his loud and obnoxious voice breaking the tense standoff. "I have a flute to play, just remember to show them the power of the Eisenwald Guild! Leave none alive!"

With that said, Erigor then put on an extra burst of speed as he then proceeded to leave the building, by flying through one of the station's windows.

"Natsu, Gray, the two of you go after Erigor. If you work together you will be able to beat 'The Shinigami', whatever you do though, be careful he is a killer!" Erza commanded, turning to the two mages, who for once weren't engaged in another one of their glaring contests but instead stood ready, their faces serious. "Well, what are you waiting for go! You can leave the rest of them to Lucy and myself!?"

At that Natsu and Gray shot each other a slight frown, before begrudgingly nodding and leaving to chase after Erigor.

However as they were doing this, the rest of the Eisenwald Guild quickly realised, where they were going and what they were planning to do. Almost immediately the assembled Dark Wizards leapt into action to stop them, as dozen of blasts of elemental magic erupted towards running Natsu and Gray, even as one of the Dark Wizards at the forefront conjured up black threads and used them to propel himself after them loudly, and somewhat lamely proclaiming his name and his goal as he did so. "I, Rayule, will take them down."

"I'm coming too. I am going to make that bastard squirm and suffer before I put him out of his misery!" Kageyama snarled, spitting out blood and loose burnt skin as he put his hand on the ground forming a gold and black magical seal, before he disappeared into his own shadows.

Seeing this the remaining Fairy Tail members, Lucy, Erza and Happy didn't have time to intercept as they instead found themselves fighting off the rest of the Dark Guild, all three of them shifted into battle stance as they prepared to take down the remaining members. Or at least Erza did, a sword in her hands as she slapped aside several blasts of magic, deflecting them away from her, and into the stone floor behind her.

"What are the three of you going to do to all of us?" One of Eisenwald's mages taunted, as he eyed the group of three, not too bothered that they had been able to survive Eisenwald's initial assault.

However when they received no response to this jeer, several of the assembled Dark Wizards got bored of waiting and instead charged at the Fairy Tail mages, only for them to be blown away by Ezra darting forward and swinging her sword, the red haired wizard using the flat of the blade to bludgeon her opponents as opposed to cutting them.

Despite that though she still easily bulled her way through the oncoming Dark Wizards, sending many of them flying backwards and crashing to the ground. After which Erza requipped her weapons so that she now had two swords, which she then began use to slice her way through the attack Dark Wizards.

As Erza was attacking, a small group of the assembled Dark Mages turned their sights towards the easier target, Lucy, who they charged on mass their weapons primed and ready to take her down and kill her if necessary.

The group clearly thinking her an easier target than Erza the Titania, a decision they would soon come to regret as Lucy expression firmed up and her grip on her golden celestial gate key tightened.

"Tch, time for me to kick some butt." Lucy said loudly, trying to buoy herself up as she then slashed her key through the air.

"Why are you trying to steal the spotlight from them?" Happy asked confusedly.

"This isn't the time to be funny cat, Open Gate of the Giant Crab, Cancer!" Lucy shouted, snapping at the annoying and useless blue cat for a moment as she did so.

An instant later, the gate opened and Cancer, the Giant Crab spirit arrived on the field of battle. The spirit in question, not looking all that crap like as he appeared, with him instead being relatively tall man in sunglasses and a jazzy shirt, with rather tanned skin, and had three pairs of crab legs sprouting from his back. Overall his appearance was more like that of a barber than a crab, with him carrying two pairs of scissors in each of his hands.

"You need me to take care of the dudes, baby?" Cancer asked in a deep, suave voice, flashing Lucy a bright smile as he did so.

"Yeah, take them out with style!" Lucy requested dramatically, thrusting her finger at the slightly confused Dark Wizards as she did so.

That being said they soon recovered, and continued to charge the celestial mage, though again this this proved to be a mistake, as in a split second the crab spirit met their charge and cut their weapons to pieces, after which to rub salt in the wound he also left them all bald-headed and unmoving. Cancer having also damaged the ligaments in their arms and legs as-well as cutting their hair as he did so, the dark skinned man ending his attack with a dramatic and slightly eccentric pose as he did so.

"Like their new style, baby?" Cancer asked. "They're not going to bother you no more baby."

"That was impressive." Erza complimented, with a nod and a slightly smile as she looked away from the scattered and battered Dark Wizards around her.

"Oh really? Thanks, but it was no big deal." Lucy replied sheepishly, forgetting momentarily that they were in a battle as she instead exulted in the Titania's compliment.

The redheaded knight then summoned another sword, after which she tore into yet another group of wizards. However stupid and weak they may have been, no one could say they weren't persistent. After all wizards like these, they may generally be considered as cannon fodder, however they could be deadly even to a much more powerful mage when they attacked on mass.

"Alright! I totally scored points with Erza!" Lucy exclaimed happily, still momentarily oblivious to the battle at hand.

"However, this crab spirit of yours. The way he calls you baby… I find it rather insulting." Erza added on, her expression turning slightly disapproving now.

"Points unscored…" Lucy mumbled in a melancholic manner.

"Ouch… but whoa…" Cancer uttered.

"Ermm Lucy, maybe you should pay more attention to the battle." Happy spoke up from where he was now standing next to Lucy, watching as a couple of the injured mages were angrily getting to their feet.

"There are still so many…" Erza thought aloud.

Before Lucy or Happy could respond to that, the scarlet-haired mage had instead already begun to access her greatest magical ability. Her armour and clothing beginning to vanish and her body glowing with an ethereal golden light that shined so brightly it felt as if it were the sun itself.

"Whoa, her armour's disappearing!" One of the stupider Dark Wizards cheered.

"What the hell is wrong with you perverts?!" Lucy shouted angrily, not understanding how they could find a way to make this seem dirty, it seemed like the kind of thing Master Naruto would do. But more importantly than that she was also angry about why they did not try and check her out.

When the transformation was complete, Erza was covered with an entirely different set of armour. Her neck and stomach were uncovered but plated armour with a large metal flower over it covered her breasts, a large billowing skirt with metal plating on its upper area covered her lower body, and pair of large metal wings that appeared to be made of blades themselves sprouted from the middle of her back. On top of that, within the palms of her hands lay a pair of identical swords, the very same colour as her armour.

"Most magic swordsman only have the ability to swap their weapon. But Erza is able to swap out armour for wizarding armour that enhances her abilities. It's a talent that only she possesses, that's what makes her special. It's a technique called… The Knight." Happy stated as the transformation came to light.

"Now…" Erza began, floating up into the air as she spoke.

"Dance my swords!" The redhead then exclaimed, summoning a spinning wheel of identical swords that acted as a virtual army on their own.

"I knew it, this had gotta be her." Karaccka short fat Dark Mage with spiky green hair fearfully spoke up.

"Circle Sword!" Erza shouted, sending the large spinning wheel of blades directly at the large group of Dark Wizards.

Following on from that, and within moments, the entirety of the enemy force was incapacitated, the blades either piercing their bodies in none fatal places or just bludgeoning them into unconsciousness, save for the two men who had evidently been giving the commands to the others. With their subordinates taken out of the picture, however, they were not even a remote threat.

"Whoa, she took them all down with a single swipe!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Aye that's Erza." Happy said excitedly.

"Alright, you're dealing with me now!" Byard one of the remaining Eisenwald mages exclaimed, jumping up into the air and making to punch the female knight with a magically reinforced fist.

"Don't do it Byard! Do you have any idea who that woman is?!" Karaccka shouted.

He, however, was far too late as with a single slash of her twin swords Erza had defeated the Dark Wizard known as Byard and sent him falling down to the floor of the railway station while she herself did the same, only she landed on her feet as opposed to on her face.

"She's queen of the fairies, Titania Erza!" Karaccka exclaimed fearfully, only watching as his comrade hit the ground.

Ignoring this comment, and noticing that nearly all of Eisenwald's forces were now eliminated, or at least those who were in the immediate area, Erza pulled back her requip armour in favour of her normal Heart-Kreuz attire. Though her expression remained stern and uncompromising as she looked over at the remaining Dark Wizard, challenging him with her gaze, daring him to make a move, immediately after which said man started to sweat bullets.

"To hell with this, I'm getting out of here!" Karaccka proclaimed moments later, losing his nerve int he face of this overwhelming enemy, before he turned and ran off.

"I would imagine he went to look for Erigor, you should follow him." Erza stated blandly, looking back at her two comrades as she spoke.

"Who, me?" Lucy asked confusedly, gesturing a finger to herself.

"Just do it." Erza ordered in an agitated manner, a fierce glint appearing in her eyes.

"Whatever you say!" Lucy exclaimed before running off as fast as she could, Happy following directly behind her.

Watching the blonde go, the moment she was out of sight, Erza fell to one knee on the ground, her face clearly weary and several beads of sweat visible on her forehead as she looked around at all the fallen Dark Wizards around her. The fight and her heavy usage of the magic mobile having worn down, to the point at which she was having difficulty standing.

With gasp of effort the Titania once again regained her feet before walking over to the mage she had just beaten. "You there, tell me what Erigor plans, before I crush you like a bug beneath my heel!"

"Erigor plans to play the Lullaby at the Guild Master's meeting in Clover! We took the train to get here faster and then stalled you here while Erigor trapped you in his Wind Wall and went on ahead." The mage easily caved and explained the entire plan to Erza, the Dark Wizard showing no loyalty to his Guild, as he instead put his own safety above all else.

Angered by his explanation Erza picked up a discarded sword before thrusting the wickedly sharp edge of her sword under the mage's neck, Erza's brown eyes spelled out pain and suffering if she didn't get what she wanted.

"How do we take down the Wind Wall?" She then demanded.

"Y-you can't." The man choked out. "Only Erigor can do that."

Before a confident smirk crossed his face. "Guess you're stuck here with us!" He then said with a laugh.

Only for Erza to silence him by slamming her hilt into his head and knocking him unconscious.

"Dammit." The red head then cursed, her gaze on the unconscious mage for a moment, before she turned when she heard the sound of running nearby.

"Erza!" Gray called out, the Ice Wizard having easily taken care of Rayule, and having found out Eisenwald's plan as he did so. "We've got a big problem!"

"Eisenwald is planning to kill Master Naruto and the other Guild Masters, and has us trapped inside a Wind Barrier that we can't break out." Erza said stoically, walking away as she did so.

"Uh… yeah." Gray relied, stumbling over what else he could say to that.

Moments later though, as Erza walked away she got an idea. "One of Erigor's men, Kageyama the burnt one, he broke the seal on Lullaby. We could probably get him to take down the Wind Wall!"

With that she swung her head over to Gray before asking. "He said that he was going after Natsu, where is he?"

"I don't know, we got separated." Gray replied with a shrug, before he held up his hand helplessly when Erza's eyes narrowed. "But I remember where we split up. We can track him from there."

"Very well." Erza said fighting back the urge to scold him for splitting up as she did so, especially as she had specifically told them not to, and that they should instead work together to take Erigor down. "Lead on."

With that said, Gray then led Erza down the hall to where he and Natsu had split up and then began to track him down. Their search became much easier when an explosion rocked the station moments later, followed by a wave of heat.

The two mages quickly picking up the pace after they heard that, before they came upon a victorious Natsu standing over the still horrifically burnt and partially unconscious Kageyama.

"Nice job, Natsu." Erza told him as she arrived, giving him a nod as she did so. "We needed him."

"Huh?" The Dragon Slayer looked at them in confusion. All he had done was defend himself against the bastard that had attacked him on the train. What was with this talk about needing him?

Erza though ignored him, as instead grabbed the dark haired mage and slammed him up against the wall. Summoning a sword as she did so before she held it up to his ruined face. "You are going to remove the Wind Wall now or I will break you!"

When Erza didn't get a response though, she instead looked closer at Kageyame, only to see the badly burnt mage was unconscious, and from the looks of it would remain unconscious for the foreseeable future.

"Dammit, I don't suppose either of you know how to break a Wind Barrier?" Erza spoke up, dropping the unconscious mage to ground as she did so, before she turned to face Natsu and Gray.

"Ermm no, I don't suppose we could dig under it could we?" Gray replied thoughtfully.

"Do any of us know any digging or **'Earth Magic'**?" Erza asked, hoping that maybe one or other of them would surprise her by responding in the affirmative.

"No."

"Nope"

"Well Fuck!"

 **( - )**

 **(In Clover Town)**

Currently, oblivious to all that was going on the next town over, Naruto and the other Guild Master continued to have their 'meeting', or rather they continued to get drunk and bitch and gossip about their own Guild members, as well as the Magic Council, and well anybody and everybody they can really.

All of them progressively getting more and more drunk as the night progressed, the conversation flowing, almost as much as the booze.

"Oi Naruto, do you know when Makky is getting back from his holiday?!" Goldmine, the Guild Master of Quarto Cerberus, shouted to Naruto from across the room, pausing midway through his attempts at getting one of the female Guild Masters to give him a lap dance.

An attempt that ended with one of the women slapping him across the face hard, and throwing a drink in his face, much to the amusement of all the other Guild Masters, all of them laughing as the overly masculine Guild Master was once more rejected. Several of them already making bawdy jokes about just what he was overcompensating for.

"Yeah the midget sent me a message yesterday saying he would be back in a day or two." Naruto responded easily from where he was sitting on a table shirtless, with a half empty tankard of ale in one hand and for some reason a riding crop in the other, a large grin on his face as he finished singing a rude sea shanty with the Guild Masters of Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus and Titan Nose.

His smile turning into one of bemusement as he looked down and saw his maid/ Celestial Spirit, Virgo, giving him a foot massage, which she had insisted on doing, not that he had tried all that hard to stop her. "Erm Virgo are you sure you want to do that?"

"Why yes Master, it is the duty of any maid to be attentive to their master. If you are displeased however, you could always spank me with that riding crop?" Virgo responded eagerly a sly smile on her normally emotionless face, turns out spirits can get drunk who knew. "On the other hand if that does not please you, I could always ride you so hard your hips would break? Pain is powerful aphrodisiac you know?"

"You know I don't think that's necessarily true." Naruto replied still quite bemused as he saw the predatory glint in Virgo's pale blue eyes, suddenly feeling quite naked.

"Wow Virgo who knew you would become such a sexy little sadist, when you get drunk, you little minx you!" Master Bob drunkenly giggled from where he was floating in the air, using the white wings his **'Aero Magic'** gave him to float above all the other Master's, likely so he could look down the tops of both the male and female Masters, the big old perv. "But then Naruto, does Makky's return mean you are going to leave the Guild?"

"No Virgo stop sucking my toes my feet are ticklish! But anyway no he already asked me if I could stay on after as an S-class wizard of Fairy Tail. I said sure why not, the last few months have been great fun I don't think I could leave it all behind so soon, in a few years maybe but not right now." Naruto replied easily, a grin on his face as the pink haired maid continued to stimulate his feet, before that smile faded into a look of concern. "Hey Virgo wait a second, what are you doing with that pineapple!"

"Don't worry master, it's one of your five a day." Virgo replied gleefully, bouncing the larger spiky fruit in one of her hands, a gleeful look on her face.

"Hmm," Naruto hummed suspiciously, before he flicked his fingers at the maid, a bolt of lightning pulverising the pineapple, not that Virgo seemed to mind as she instead began to lick her fingers clean of the juice, staring her master down as he did so.

"I'm never letting you drink again." Naruto sighed resignedly, his lips quirking upwards despite himself.

"Hey Naruto, and Bobby too, just thought I should mention but there is ominous magical power approaching the Meeting Hall, do you reckon we should go out and meet whoever it is?" Goldmine spoke up approaching the table where the two sat, dodging around hammered Guild Masters as he went, a large red hand print stretching across one side of his face.

"Fuck no, it is cold out there. Plus there is no booze." The blonde Guild Master replied already well aware of the approaching wizard, but unbothered by it for the most part, after all despite the negativity of his emotions, the guy didn't feel all that powerful, only about A-Class.

"If you are cold master I could always come and warm you up, hot candle wax does do wonders for the soul." Virgo spoke up cheerfully holding a box of matches in one hand and a large candle in the other.

"Damn Virgo, you are one crazy spirit. How did you even get into BDSM? Naruto shouted out, trying to get some distance from the drunk celestial spirit as he did so.

"Well master you try getting stereotyped as a virgin maiden, you tend to act out after a while. Besides giving and receiving sexual pain can be fun, or at least so I have heard. Fancy having ago." The pink haired maid giggled before leaping at Naruto.

Before the blonde could respond however, he was instead distracted by the arrival of the mysterious Dark Wizard who had been approaching the Meeting Hall. His blue eyes flickering purple for a moment as he saw a hole blasted in the roof of the building, not that the other Guild Master seemed to care, as some just cheered and shouted "Let's bring this mother fucker down!"

That being said their enthusiasm did wane slightly when in a swirl of wind Erigor the Shinigami appeared in the Meeting Hall with his scythe in one hand and a wooden flute in the other, a wooden flute with a three eyed skull at the tip. "Prepare yourselves Guild Master scum, for you time is at hand. It is time for you flies to fear the reaper!"

"Hey Naruto darling did you hire a male stripper, you naughty boy you! How did you know those are my favourites!?" Bob replied to Erigor's speech blowing kisses as he did so, a girlish giggle leaving his mouth as he eyed up Erigor's partially naked form.

"Sorry wasn't me Bobby boy, men aren't my thing. You don't think it was Jose playing a practical joke do you?" Naruto casually responded taking a swig of ale as he did so. "I mean I know he is a bit butt hurt, but sending a single, low brow male escort, that's a bit low. The least he could have done was send a whole section over here, you know, to cater to all tastes."

"How dare you scum, I am Erigor the Shinigami, the Ace of Eisenwald and your death!" Erigor snarled back before raising the flute to his lips.

"Oh I didn't know this we were doing roleplay." Bob tittered. "If I had I would have made more of an effort."

Naruto however just eyed Erigor warily now, his gaze locked on the flute, recognising the energy coming from it now, his eyes flashing purple as he recognised the taint of demonic power. One that he was intimately familiar with, after all that prick Zeref had based some of his little creations on Naruto, using what little he knew of the blonde as a template of sorts, as the Black Wizard tried to use his own magic to reproduce the natural phenomenon that was Naruto.

"Can't say I am in the mood for music at the moment, does anyone else want to hear this jester play?" The ex-shinobi called out to the surrounding Guild Masters, half of whom hadn't even bothered turning to look at Erigor. "No? Ok then hey Virgo."

"Yes master, how can I service you?" Virgo asked gleefully, her blue eyes twinkling with delight when she saw Naruto's eyes twitch at her deliberate innuendo.

"Can you go punish Eligar the Shini-something for me please?" Naruto sighed, bringing one of his hands to his face.

Upon hearing that the drunk maid gained a large sadistic smile on her face before she reequipped her outfit, replacing her maid outfit with a black, skin tight leather cat suit, a strange glowing blue whip also appearing in her hand as she did so.

"Oh master you do know how to look after you maid don't you!" Virgo said in a happy voice before she cracked her whip, cutting a nearby table in two as she then leaped at the confused Erigor.

"Hmm note to self, don't give Virgo alcohol again, I think I preferred her as a masochist. Because as a sadist, she's kind of scary!" Naruto muttered as he saw this, his lips once again twitching upwards.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So what did you all think? Did you enjoy? Though that being said I know what some of the comments will be, and yes this is similar to the original only cleaned up a bit, and expanded in places, including adding a very important plot point, one which will be expanded upon as the story progresses. This will also be important in regards to the new direction I will be taking my story in its rewrite.**

 **Also yes bits of this chapter were a rehash of canon of sorts, though that was mainly because I think this arc is particularly important when it comes to introducing the main characters. Though I have also used it to develop the characters a little bit, by adding in the real life consequences of using magic, i.e. death and injury.**

 **With this being something that was rarely touched upon in canon, but which I think is important, especially in how it will develop the more naive characters like Natsu and Lucy.**

 **That being said there will also be a few original arcs that I have planned out, and the story will mainly focus on Naruto, with Naruto not going on all of the same missions as Team Natsu, after all why would he, unless under exceptional circumstances.**

 **So yeah other than that I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and for those who picked up on the important plot point, don't jump to conclusions, I have a plan in mind and it won't' be what you first assume it will be.**

 **In other news I have also finished planning out my rewrite of Ten Tailed Wolf my Naruto/ Highschool DxD story, so will be starting on that soon.**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you all leave a comment or review.**

 **See you later.**

 **Seagate.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So here is the next chapter, ideally I would be updating Limitless or Dead Man Walking, but I am having difficulty putting those updates together in a way I am happy with.**

 **But any way, this chapter, its been cleaned up, rewritten in parts and improved in other areas, meaning that somehow it is over fifty percent larger than it was previously. Though that's important as bits and pieces I have included in this chapter are important, as they are a part of my newly refurbished plot line.**

 **So yeah other than that, thanks for all the support and I hope you continue to enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.**

 ** **( - )****

 **(Last Time)**

 _"_ _Can you go punish Eligar the Shini-something for me please?" Naruto sighed, bringing one of his hands to his face._

 _Upon hearing that the drunk maid gained a large sadistic smile on her face before she reequipped her outfit, replacing her maid outfit with a black, skin tight leather cat suit, a strange glowing blue whip also appearing in her hand as she did so._

 _"Oh Master you do know how to look after you maid don't you!" Virgo said in a happy voice before she cracked her whip, cutting a nearby table in two as she then leaped at the confused Erigor._

 _"Hmm note to self, don't give Virgo alcohol again, I think I preferred her as a masochist. Because as a sadist, she's kind of scary!" Naruto muttered as he saw this, his lips once again twitching upwards._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 9**

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto in Clover Town)**

"So Naruto, where on Earthland did you get that girl, because, well you do realise that your maid, she is certifiably insane don't you?" Goldmine asked dryly as he absentmindedly watched the beautiful, pink haired, lather clad maid whip the whimpering, Erigor the Shinigami, as he lay on the Clover Town Meeting Hall floor in a foetal positon.

With both Goldmine and the other Guild Masters, all of whom had attended the 'serious' and 'important' Guild Master's conference, all drinking beer and cheering the maid on as they did so. With several of them rather cruelly making bets about whether the murderous Dark Mage would piss himself, the alcohol and pent up distain Dark Wizards fuelling a few of the cheering Guild Masters as they couldn't' help but feel a certain sense of satisfaction in what they were watching.

Not that Virgo was paying them any mind, as she instead pulled her whip back and lashed out again, leaving a thin red line Erigor's bare back and causing him to let out a cry of pain, his previous ideas about murdering all the Guild Masters gone from his mind, as Virgo continued to lay into him, finishing off what had been a very brutal and one sided fight.

One which had started off with her lashing out with her magic whip and catching him around the neck, before she had dragged him from the air and slammed him into the floor boards. With Virgo not even using her **'Earth Magic'** to deal with her paltry foe, as the power of her Master, Naruto, burned through her veins, along with close to a dozen tankards of ale and half a bottle of wine.

"Yes Goldmine, I have to say that thought has crossed my mind, but I think I prefer it that way. After all there is nothing more boring than being normal." Naruto replied with a sigh as he ran his hand through his spiky blond hair pushing his fringe out of his eyes as he did so. After which he then cracked a slight smile at Goldmine as he continued. "Besides, I kind of like her. When she is sober she is a masochist and when she is intoxicated she is a sadist, you get the best of both worlds."

"Wow you and Makky real are related aren't you, deep down your both kind of pervy." The Guild Master of Quatro Cerberus replied, his brow furrowing as he eyed Naruto, his mind going back to his time in Fairy Tail as a young man, when Makarov's father Yury had still been a member of the Guild and their Ace,. With the loud and gregarious man being almost the spitting image of Naruto, with a personality to match. Not that Goldmine believed them to be the same person, after all that was impossible, Yury would have been over one hundred, and probably dead.

"Aww thanks Goldmine!" The blonde replied, raising his mug of ale and toasting the tanned and skinny Wizard as he did so, completely oblivious as to what Goldmine was actually thinking.

"Yeah, that wasn't a compliment." Goldmine then deadpanned, pushing away his concerns for the moment, after all Makky vouched for the guy and they were clearly related. Any similarity Naruto had to Yury must all be in his Dreyar genetics.

"Oh come on now Goldie, I like Naru's freaky side it is just so cute." Bob, the Guild Master of Blue Pegasus, interrupted as he threw his large, muscly and hairy arms around Naruto and started rubbing his bristly chin against the blonde's cheek.

"Oh get off of me Bob!" Naruto sighed as he broke free, a pair of glowing purple tendrils bursting form his back and pushing Bob off of him, before depositing him on Goldmine's lap, much to the thin blonde man's irritation.

"Oh Naruto you silly goose you, you know you want a cuddle from little old me." Bob replied with a giggle as he hopped off the grumbling Goldmine's lap and blew a kiss at Fairy Tail's fourth Guild Master.

Pushing down his shiver at Bob's actions, Naruto then turned his attention back onto the ongoing beat down from Virgo. Watching along with the others as the pink haired woman continue to lay into Erigor with her glowing blue and yellow whip.

A slight smile spreading across his face as he did so, after all he couldn't help but be entranced by her. Her blue eyes seemed to gleam with playful delight and her lean sculpted figure looked sinful in her tight black body suit as she laid into the grey haired villain.

It was almost a shame to stop such a beautiful sight, but unfortunately indiscriminate killing was deeply frowned on in Fiore nowadays, both by the King and his Court as well as by the Magical Council. After all they had to cater to the concerns of those people who didn't use magic, both civilians and wealthy nobles, and their concerns over the ways in which it could be abused.

"Alright now Virgo, leave Erigor alone for the moment, I think he has had enough." Naruto eventually shouted out, immediately getting Virgo's attention, and earning himself some booing and jeering from some of the surrounding Guild Masters in response.

Not that Naruto gave a single shit about what a couple of Guild Masters he had never met before thought.

"Aww but Master I was having such a good time, his pain is so delicious and the screams... hmm they make me wet." Virgo replied, a salacious smirk on her lips as she stopped whipping the quivering and crying Erigor, and instead turned to Naruto, a sultry expression spreading across her face as she slowly walked towards him, her hips tantalisingly swaying and sashaying as she moved, absentmindedly coiling up her whip as she did so.

"Wow Virgo, that was vivid," Naruto said with a slight smile on his as he took a step towards his sexy Celestial Spirit maid. "Somehow, I think you and me are going to get along just fine,"

"Hmmm, thank you Master but…" Virgo started as she sexily licked her lips and took another step towards Naruto, before she suddenly spun on her heel and clicked her fingers, using her magic on Erigor as she did so.

A large hole suddenly appearing in the ground beneath the Ace of Eisenwald, with the large hole sucking him underneath the ground, until within moments he was buried up to his neck. With the only part of his body still visible, being his badly bruised face.

Moment later, with that task now done, Virgo looked over her shoulder at Naruto again, before smirking, "but I am not that easy."

"Ooo you tease!" Naruto replied, letting out a short laugh as he maintained eye contact with his pink haired maid, completely ignoring the broken and pitiful moans from Erigor.

After all it was not like he really cared about the Dark Wizard's condition, the man had broken into the Meeting Hall and interrupted the Guild Master conference all so he could kill all of the Guild Masters after all. Only for him to get his arse kicked brutally by Virgo.

In fact it could barely even be called a fight, as she acted before Erigor had a chance to react, lashing out with her whip and plucking him from the air, only to follow this up with an axe kick to slam him into the ground, after which she then relentlessly whipped him into submission. It was sad really, for talking such a big game he certainly didn't last very long in a fight.

"Why of course I am Master," Virgo replied before her form started glowing as her clothes changed from her skin tight, black leather body suit, as she instead reequipped into her standard, black and white, frilly maid outfit. "Now how can I continue to service you Master?"

"And she's back to normal." Naruto said with a roll of his eyes and a slight smile, still amused by the Celestial Spirits eccentricity, it was rather refreshing really, after all it was so very inhuman. "Now that's over whose round is it? I think I am starting to sober up, and I don't like it!"

"Ha! It is your round Naruto so get the beers in!" Goldmine shouted out as the other Guild Masters in the Meeting hall all started cheering, the Quatro Cerberus Guild Master's previous bemusement now fading at the prospect of a free drink.

"Aww shit!" Naruto said as he pulled out a very battered toad themed wallet, his Gamachan 2.0, which at this had a large amount of jewels in it, though knowing these greedy bastards that wouldn't be the case for long. "Ok this round is on me, but no top shelf spirits, or else you're going to bleed me dry, and I'll end up having to sleep in my Guild Hall because I miss my rent payments. And if that happens I'll be pissed!"

"You can punish me if you think it will make you feel better Master?" Virgo, now back in her full masochistic maid persona, said a hopeful, yet also wicked gleam in her eye as she did so. Her lips curving up into a smile as she saw the blonde let out an exaggerated sigh in response.

"Oh for fuck's sake, not this shit again."

 **( - )**

 **(With Erza in Oshibana)**

"Looks like we finally made it out." Erza Scarlet said with a hint of momentary satisfaction, as she stood above a large recently made hole, currently dressed in her 'Digging Armour', which was less armour, and more just an outfit consisting of a pair of denim dungarees, a digger's helmet and a pick axe. "And about time too, I really must find a way to travel through the ground quicker, hmm perhaps new type of armour maybe? One specialising in **'Earth Magic'**?" Erza then continued to muse, leaning on her pickaxe absentmindedly as she did so.

The rest of the group, Gray and Lucy just gave Erza deadpan stares in response to her musing, and also her stating of the obvious, given that every member of the group was currently looking back as the wind barrier continued to rage on the outskirts of the building they had just exited, the Oshibana Town Railway Station.

"Hey, where did Natsu go?" Gray suddenly asked, looking away from the odd redhead and looking around for the just as odd, fire breathing Wizard Natsu. Only to not find a single trace of Fairy Tail's resident Dragon Slayer anywhere in the nearby vicinity.

"I don't see Happy either." Lucy added on absentmindedly as she tried to clean some of the dirt and dust from her rather expensive clothes, after all you never know when there might be a camera around and she certainly didn't want her debut on Sorcerer Weekly to be of her covered in mud and grime.

"That probably just means that Natsu went after Erigor. Happy is capable of flying at extremely high speeds, so if ever there was a chance to catch up to Erigor, then following after him with Happy would be the best chance." Erza explained as she re-equipped her armour, losing her workwoman clothes and instead donning her normal outfit, a silver Heart Kreuz breastplate and gantlets, a white blouse and a blue skirt. "Though even with that advantage that idiot may not be able to catch Erigor, it took us a long time to escape the wind barrier, far longer than it should have, he prooably has a massive lead on us."

"It's no use… after all you're right he'll never be able to catch up to Erigor, and neither will any of you. We can't be stopped now… we've won." Kageyama suddenly spoke up from where he was sprawled on the ground, his face and body covered in bandages as he looked up coldly at the surrounding mages. Ignoring the fact that they had patched him up and probably saved his life as he did so, instead just clinging onto his old hatred.

In response to that, the three Fairy Tail Wizards scowled down at the beaten and battered form of the Eisenwald Shadow Wizard.

"Hn, whatever so I guess you'll just tie me up and futilely go on your way." Kageyama continued glibly, ignoring their glares as he did so.

"No." Erza replied bluntly.

"What?!" Kageyama asked twisting his head in her direction in shock before he cringed as the sudden movement caused his injuries to flare up, and a lance of pain to shoot through him.

"You'll be coming with us." Erza replied to him as she grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and started dragging him after her, uncaring of his injuries and squawks of outrages as she walked with single minded determination to where their magic mobile was hopefully still parked.

"Argh get off me you psycho bitch, these bandages aren't just for show you know!" Kage shouted out as the armoured red head continued to drag him, his cursing and shouting interspersed with cries of pain as he did so.

In response to that, Erza merely smiled dangerously at Kageyama's discomfort. Having come to the conclusion that if he were just to be left tied up, that there was a good chance that he would just escape and somehow warn Erigor that they were free and after him, after all they had no easy way of suppressing the man's magic.

No, it would be best to keep an eye on this man, and if Erigor put up any other barriers like the _Wind Wall_ they would be able to force Kageyama to take it down now that he was conscious, after all it wouldn't take her long to persuade him the hard way if she had too.

"Hmm, where is our magic mobile?" Erza suddenly asked as she looked around for where their transport had been, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Gray.

Who, while Erza had been intimidating Kageyama, had been busy discovering that their original transport had been destroyed by Erigor, and so had, had to find a new four-wheeler for them before driving it back to the station.

"Erza, I found a new ride." Gray called out to her from the driver's seat, a smug expression on his face as he gestured for them all to get into the back seat.

"Excellent." She praised before unceremoniously tossing Kageyama in the back, before grabbing Gray and doing the same. "I drive! Now tell me what happened to the old one?"

"Hey I was going to drive!" Gray shouted out in protest, before he saw a dangerous expression that quickly made its way across Erza's face. "Never mind, just go, Erigor must have destroyed the old one before he left so we couldn't follow even if we did escape."

"Very well let's go!" Erza said to Lucy and Gray before starting the four-wheeler, after which she then quickly drove out of town, before deciding to take a more direct route and so steered the vehicle onto the train tracks and started to power on to Clover Town, hopefully before Erigor got there and killed all of the Guild Masters.

 **( - )**

 **(With Naruto, back in Clover Town)**

"So I have to say, this Erigor guy, he was a bit of a disappointment really wasn't he, I mean I was expecting more from someone who came here hoping to kill half the Guild Master's in Fiore." Bob said as he poked at the now unconscious Erigor, who was still buried neck deep in the ground, in the face with his thick, hairy toe.

"Meh, he was only from Eisenwald. That is one of those lesser Dark Guild isn't it, one of the ones that are vassals of the more powerful ones like Grimoire Heart and Tartarus." Naruto replied absentmindedly from where he was sitting and drinking a few feet away, a mug of ale in his hand as he looked over at what Bob was up to, his lips quirking upwards as the hairy old man continued to poke Erigor in the face with his foot, "I mean those types of dark mages are just cannon fodder really, hell even their Ace probably wouldn't be a match for even on of Fairy Tail's B-class Wizards.."

"I know but still, I was expecting so much more." Bob sighed, before he gave up and waltzed over to where Naruto ad Goldmine were sat.

"What were you expect some dramatic speech about friendship, trust and love? Yeah that is Makarov's thing; I gave up giving speeches to my enemy's years ago, after all it so much easier just to kick their arses." Naruto replied to Bob, before he turned to Virgo who was currently serving drinks to some of the other Guild Master's, once again roleplaying as a maid. "Hey Virgo, could you do us a favour and take out the trash? It may be funny having Erigon or whatever his name is stuck there, but we are going to need to clean him up eventually. And unlike these fuckers I am actually hoping to get my part of the damage deposit back."

"Ok Master will do, or maybe I won't. Would you punish me if I didn't?" Virgo replied, tilting her head to one side coyly as she did so.

"No, but if you really want, I will punish you if you do, so you know do it." Naruto replied with a sigh.

"So does that mean you don't want me to do it now, as punishments are usually done if you do something wrong."

"No, I want you to get Erigor, tie him up and put him in a safe place. And if you do that I will punish you as a reward."

"Ok Master, so if I do something right you will treat me as if I did something wrong, as a reward for doing something right?"

"Errrrrr, yeah sure."

"Alright then Master, sounds like fun." Virgo finished leaving Naruto looking bemused and many of the surrounding Guild Masters just looking confused, as she walked up to Erigor and dragged him out of the ground by the scruff of his shirt, which she then used to further drag his unconscious body from the main hall.

As this was done she didn't notice as a carved wooden flute fell from Erigor's unconscious body and landed on the floor, the flute rolling several metres before lying still face up, the strange three eyed skull carved onto it just looking up at the ceiling.

 **"What the fuck is wrong with you people? You're all insane, the lot of you!"**

A thunderous voice sudden bellowed, the sound coming from the inanimate wooden flute, instantly putting all the mages in the room on guard, or at least those who were still conscious, as they all looked around uncomfortably as the vile, and dark voice filled the room. After all it was a very creepy voice, sounding like several different demonic voices talking in tandem.

Staring at the ceiling, more than a few wizards in the building gasped as they saw a gigantic purple magic circle appear in the air above them, the magic circle rapidly rotating above them as purple arcs of electricity began firing from the centre of the circle, shattering the surrounding furniture and tearing the roof off of the Meeting Hall building, leaving it entirely open to the air.

"Damn, well there goes the deposit." Naruto sighed before turning to Virgo who had dropped Erigor once again and was looking at the magical circle with an emotionless expression. "Unless you are any good at carpentry Virgo?"

"Can't say I am Master, I could probably do a roof made of stone or earth though?" Virgo mused, even as she kicked the unconscious Erigor underneath a nearby table so he would have at least a little bit of protection from the falling roof and arcs of purple lightning.

"Hmm, no I don't think it would really match with the rest of the building. But a good idea though we can come back to it later." Naruto replied easily, giving the flute a bland look as he did, even as his eyes narrowed, once again recognising the feeling coming from the artefact.

"W-What the hell is wrong with you people?!" One of the Guild Masters shouted at the casually chatting Naruto and Virgo, before he thrust his finger at the magical circle above them. "Shouldn't you be more bothered about that? After all what the fuck is it?!"

"I believe it is a magical circle." Was Naruto's dry and snarky reply.

"A very good observation Master!"

"Thank you Virgo."

It was as the two of them were talking, that an oppressive weight had quickly begun bearing down on everyone in the room, the malicious intent and ominous power of it making it hard for many to breath. With only Naruto, Virgo, Master Bob, Master Goldmine and a few others looking relatively unbothered by the oppressive power.

 **"I can't stand it any longer, your inane chatter bores me! I'll devour you all myself, I will rip the souls from your body and remove them from existence!"** The voice sounded out again, its words causing the earth to shake, and many of the Guild Masters to flinch back or let out cries of horror.

What followed next was a final explosion, after which pair of enormous wooden legs struck down, clawed feet landing on the ground and tearing the wooden floor asunder, ripping what was left of the building to pieces as the demon emerged in full.

In response to that most of the Guild Master fled, running for the nearby forests as they did so, with some of them looking back in horror as they saw the massive creature looming above them.

The demon, Lullaby, had a gigantic wooden body, with gaping holes all throughout its middle, which twisted and converged into a massively wide wooden chest, which had two long, gnarled, wooden arms protruding out from its shoulders, each arm ending in a hand which had razor sharp claws. To finish off the gruesome image, the monster had a twisted head with three large, cavernous dark eyes, a long tongue idly extending out of its gaping maw as it licked its non-existent lips.

All in all the creature's was truly colossal, as it caused all the wizards on the ground to look up, straining their necks to do so, its body easily towering above the mountains and forests that surrounded the area.

Raising an eyebrow Naruto assessed the demon, once again noting how familiar it was, which of course meant it was likely a creation of that bastard Zeref's. Fortunately it was not the first one he had met, nor would it be the first one he had dealt with, after all he had fought several of them over the years, and this one seemed slightly weaker than the ones he had come across before. "Well that is a big beastie isn't, though it's also an absolute fucking bastard! I mean now we are definitely not getting the deposit back for the building!"

"You should punish it Master."

"Oh, don't worry Virgo I intend to." Naruto replied, cracking his knuckles theatrically as he did so, his eyes once again flashing with purple energy as he gazed up at the colossal demon.

"What the hell is that thing?" One of the Guild Masters, a large burly, bearded man, from a recently formed minor Guild, called Sabre Cats or something, shouted out as he pointed up at the monstrous creature.

In response to the man's question, Goldmine seemed to be the only one of the more experienced Guild Masters willing to answer, as he lowered his sunglasses to get a better look, before he replied. "That must be a demon from the book of Zeref."

Hearing panicked cries, Naruto looked around as many of the Guild Masters fled, not at all comfortable taking on anything to do with Zeref, leaving barely a handful of Guild Master to deal with the demon.

"Humph cowards, ahh well at least this way, they won't be getting under foot all the time. By the way, I hope you two don't mind if I take this one do you?" Naruto asked Bob and Goldmine as he took a step toward the massive creature, which at that moment seemed to be lumbering around scaring people and shouting curses.

As is if heard Naruto's words the demon leaned in and scrutinised its new prey. "So, which of you want to be eaten first? It doesn't really matter as I will eat you all in the end, but I thought I might as well ask!"

"I'll go first." Naruto said glibly, his eyes once again flashing purple, and a feral looking passing across his face momentarily as his facial bones seemed to shift for a moment, before settling.

"Yeah sure go for it?" Goldmine replied oblivious to this as he was behind Naruto, the tall, skinny wizard instead patting Naruto once on the shoulder, before he turned walked off after the other fleeing Guild Masters.

"Good luck sweet prince, may hosts of angels carry you on your way." Came Bob's strange reply as he blew kisses to Naruto before he too left, fluttering away on his small white wings, like some terrifyingly butch butterfly.

"Have fun Master." Was all Virgo said before she created a hole in the ground, which she then jumped into, completely disappearing from sight.

Ignoring this, Naruto instead flared his magic, a cloak of dense, purple lightning appearing around his body as he fixed is now violet eyes on Lullaby, the lightning seeping into his muscles, cells and nerves charging them with lightning as he did so.

With this having the useful effect of increasing his speed, strength, reflexes and durability. Cracking his lightning clad knuckles, Naruto prepared to meet this monstrous being in combat as two tendrils of crackling purple energy erupted from his back, before they twisted around his arm and solidified, creating two arms blades of crackling, hybrid magic/ chakra energy.

Crouching down, even as the earth at his feet began to break apart, Naruto prepared himself to engage Lullaby, the giant demon turning to him as it sensed his energy, before letting out a roar. **"COME MONGREL!"**

This tense standoff lasted for a few moments, before it was interrupted by the sound of large group of loud voices drawing nearer. Blinking at this in bemusement, Naruto momentarily turned from the demon before him, only for him to then see a large gathering of people, all marching in formation and dressed in matching mail and blue and yellow tabards. With many flags held up showing off the symbol of the Kingdom of Fiore, and a whole forest of spears raised to the heavens as they marched in formation towards Clover Town, with there being nearly five hundred of them in total.

These were the Kingdom's Rune Knights, an 'elite' force of warrior that kept peace in the Kingdom and were dedicated to meting out the Magic Council and the King's justice and policing the many Wizarding Guilds.

"In the name of the King, we'll destroy you demon!"

"This guy isn't anything we can't handle! Men, onward with the attack!"

Letting out a loud cry, the large phalanxes of men began charging at the beast. This however only managed to draw the attention of the wooded demon, who took his hellish eyes off of Naruto and instead raised a brow at the charging army, before it then roared at them. **"GET OUT OF HERE, SMALL FRY!"**

Inhaling a large amount of air, the massive demon then exhaled and fired out a monstrous beam of pure energy that stuck the peak of a nearby mountain, with said mountain, just behind the oncoming battalion, being completely obliterated by the demon's single powerful blast.

"C-Captain the mountain's gone!" One of the soldiers cried out in shock, as the entire company came to a halt to view what had just happened.

"E-Everyone retreat!" The captain then ordered in response, as all Rune Knights immediately began to run in the opposite direction.

"Yep, that's about right for the Rune Knights." Naruto said dryly, rubbing his lightning enshrouded head with one of his crackling, lightning covered hands, as if he was massaging away a headache.

 **"SO! ARE YOU MY FIRST COURSE THEN LITTLE WIZARD?!"** The demon roared out as it turned its attention away from the fleeing army and instead back onto Naruto, its three eyes fixed on Naruto curiously, sensing the odd power coming from him as it did so. **"I WILL FEAST ON YOUR SOUL LITTLE HUMAN!"**

"Little human? I take offense to that you fucking tree!" Naruto said in response before he then increased his magical output, dipping into the titanic reserves of magic that lay in his body.

 **"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!"** Lullaby roared before lunged for Naruto, the earth trembling as it moved. The wooden demon aiming a clenched fist, as big as a small house, towards the lightning clad blonde, no doubt hoping to crush Naruto in one move.

Unfortunately though its plan didn't work, as when it slammed its fist down onto the unmoving Naruto, its wooden hand seemed to bounce of upon touching the lightning cloak, as if it had hit a wall. As it pulled its hand back several cracks appeared across the surface, each of the cracks seemed to crackle with purple lightning, a crackle which seemed to spread as the cracks expanded until they covered the entire fist, which then promptly just turned to blackened dust.

"Well that was disappointing." Naruto said as he watched the massive demon flail backwards roaring and holding what remained of its hand as it did so, a hand that seemed to be regenerating before Naruto's very eyes. "Hmm or not, ahh well best get on with it I suppose."

And with that said Naruto launched of the ground, disappearing from sight with a crack as all he left behind him was a crater. Before with another crack Naruto was at eyelevel with the beast, his arms pulled backwards, the two blade like extension crackling with purple lightning, before moments later he lashed out.

His two blades shearing through the beast's rock hard body as Naruto first shredded its eyes and chest, before he then disappeared with another crack of lightning, only to appear directly behind the beast, a swirling orb of highly condensed purple lightning forming between his palms, similar to a Rasengan. One which he then smashed into the creature's back, before disappearing again with another crack of lightning.

 **"ARGHHH!"** Was the demon's response to Naruto's attack as his Rasengan tore through its torso, grinding away at the wood and causing fire to spread across the damaged sections of it body. Even as the Rasengan continued to burrow its way into the beast's chest, right until it destabilised. After all with Naruto no longer controlling or moulding the **'Lightning Magic'** it simply erupted out of the condensed ball of power.

The demon in response to this merely raised its arms and roared in pain as its chest seemed to expand for a second as all the **'Lightning Magic'** in the Rasengan exploded outwards, which led to parts of the beast's chest starting breaking away or disintegrate, leaving gaping, burning holes behind in its huge wooden body.

 **"DAMN YOU! YOU'VE DONE IT NOW! NOW HEAR MY MUSIC AND DIE!"** Lullaby roared in response, the behemoth raising its arms as it prepared to play its melody.

In response however Naruto just rolled his eyes and gave it a bored look his lightning cloak fading as he decided he would not need it against such a foe, with the oversized flute paling in comparison to the other demons of Zeref he'd met over the years.

Not that Lullaby seemed to notice this as the demon flute instead brought both its newly regenerated hands to its mouth as if to play an actual flute and took a deep breath, inhaling a ridiculous amount of air as it did so, before releasing it. Though instead of its 'music of death', the only thing that could be heard was a high-pitched whistling sound, which made Naruto and all the Guild Masters watching in the background could almost comically sweat drop at the anti-climax.

"Well that was embarrassing" Naruto muttered, before he sent the demon a look of pity. "Performance issues eh? You know I think they have drugs that can help you perform better?"

 **"RAGHHH!"** Was all the response Naruto received as Lullaby tried again, only for it to once again fail.

' _He punctured holes, so it wouldn't play its music!_ ' Goldmine mused to himself as he watched the young Naruto Dreyar fight. With this being the first time any of the Guild Masters had witnessed Naruto fight.

They all knew he must have at least been powerful; otherwise Makarov wouldn't have left him in charge. But this, the blonde Guild Master was fighting a demon from the books of Zeref and was toying with it!

 _'Hmm clever, almost reminds me of how old Yury Dreyar used to fight. Though I don't remember Yury's lightning being purple, then again I never really saw him use it in a fight.'_ Goldmine continued to muse, once again comparing Naruto Dreyar to Yury in his head, taking into account the attitude, the magical aptitude and the appearance, all of which was almost identical.

 **"I WON'T NEED MY MUSIC OF DEATH TO KILL YOU!"** The beast finally roared as it gave up on trying to play its music, still defiant despite losing its greatest weapon. With that said the wooden demon opened its mouth as it prepared to let loose another magic beam, only this time it would be aimed at Naruto.

Naruto however merely sighed in response. "Not to sound dramatic or edgy or anything, but let's get this shit over with, it's time to end this permanently demon."

It was as he said that, that four bladed, spear tipped chains of purple energy erupted from Naruto's back. The blonde shooting forwards the moment they appeared, not as fast as he had been earlier with his lightning cloak, but still far faster than the average Wizard.

Within moment Naruto was in front of the demon, his chains swinging round and tearing into the creature's colossal body, even as he launched his fist, now crackling with lightning, into the centre of Lullaby's chest.

An action that caused Lullaby's wooden chest to shatter, even as Naruto's chains tore through the joints of his arms and legs, splintering the creatures wooden body, as Naruto ripped, and tore it to pieces, his diminutive size compared to Lullaby meaning very little as the demon flutes remains crashed to the ground, Naruto still standing stoically on its chest.

 **"Y-you're a monster!"** The demon managed to get out as it looked at Naruto in horror, the slightest flicker of realisation appearing in its torn up eyes as it looked up at Naruto, its dark eyes locking with Naruto's glowing violet ones. **"W-ait, it's yo-"**

"Yeah, well deal with it motherfucker!" Naruto cut it off, not giving it anytime to finish, as he instead forged a lance of purple lightning in his hand, before he slammed it into Lullaby's skull, disintegrating its head within an instant, even as Naruto's lightning once again turned back to its natural colour, his eyes fading back to their standard blue as he did so.

"Capital show!"

"Way to go Master Naruto!"

"Oh Naru you sexy beast you!"

Came the shouts from the assembled Guild Masters as they all converged on Naruto, walking across the burnt and pitted ground as they did so. Grinning as he saw this, Naruto turned to greet them, however before he could respond to the now cheering and celebrating Guild Master he was interrupted again.

"Master Naruto!" Came a shout from behind him as a magic mobile shot into view, driving wildly to and fro as it rapidly made its way to where Naruto and the Guild Masters were.

"Lullaby, Erigor, the Eisenwald Guild..!." Lucy gasped out as she ran up to Naruto and clutched onto the front of his jacket, with Erza and Gray following on closely behind.

"Oh hey, what's up?" Naruto replied, absentmindedly patting Lucy on the head as he did so, as the girl tried to catch her breath and calm down.

"Master Naruto, Erigor the Shinigami is heading in this direction with the Cursed Flute Lullaby. I believe he is going to use it to kill all the Guild Masters." Erza said succinctly as she shoved her way through the crowd until she was standing right in front of Naruto.

"Hmm, yeah that sounds about right. Not to worry though, Lullaby has been destroyed and Erigor defeated. In fact you're a little late to the party?" Naruto replied cheerfully, before he gestured rather obviously around at their surroundings, where the pile of Lullaby's shattered and burnt remains could still be seen.

"What? Well that is good news, I am sorry we are so late Master, Erigor trapped us in Oshibana Train Station and it took us a while to get out. And then we had to try and find that idiot Natsu who had run off." Erza responded head bowed in shame, especially since they hadn't been able to find Natsu, after which she then added. "You may hit me in punishment Master."

"Oh no not another one! I swear you and Virgo could probably get together and take notes!" Naruto cried out.

"You called Master." Virgo said as the pink haired maid seemed to rise up from the ground in front of him, kneeling in a submissive bow. "If she is getting punished, can I?"

"No! Bad Virgo behave."

"But Master she does have a point, punishments must be upheld if your subordinates do wrong." Erza said with a nod of approval at the pink haired maid, ignoring the fact that she had no idea who she was.

"I agree with her Master and I have been a bad, bad girl." Virgo said nodding her head along with Erza.

"Am I going mad!?" Naruto shouted out as the two women wanting punishment converged on him, much to the amusement of the other Guild Masters, and the giggling of Master Bob. "No seriously, I'm genuinely asking?"

"Wait Virgo? As in one of the Celestial Spirits?" Lucy finally interrupted, putting aside her uncomfortableness of the situation, to ask Naruto a question, catching the other blonde's attention as she did so.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at that, before he nodded. "Yeah, I picked up her Gate Key the other day from some creep called Duke Everlue."

Lucy instantly smiled with excitement as she heard that, before she took a step forwards. "Thank you Master Naruto, I can't believe you would do this for me!"

"Ermm, your welcome? I am not sure what for, but yeah, you're welcome." Naruto replied now, a slightly bemused expression on his face as he eyed Lucy curiously. With Virgo and the other Fairy Tail Wizards all falling silent to watch the ongoing conversation.

"Why for getting the Virgo's key for me of course," Lucy responded with a brilliant smile as she made to get the Golden Gate Key which at that minute was hanging from a chain around Naruto's neck. Assuming as she did that Naruto, who was a known Lightning Wizard among other things, had gotten it for Lucy, the only Celestial Mage in the entire Guild. After all it would only make sense that he would give it her, after all it wouldn't be as useful to him as it would be to her.

"Woah there girl, I think you maybe a little confused. This is my key and Virgo has made a contract with me," Naruto replied frowning now as he took a step back to get away from Lucy's questing hand, not angry so much as he was a bit puzzled by just what the blonde girl was up to.

"What! Don't be silly Master, you're not a Celestial Mage and so the key would be no good to you." Lucy said frowning herself now, and also feeling a little embarrassed as she felt the eyes of the other members of Team Natsu on her, as well as some of the other Guild Masters.

"Correction I wasn't a Celestial Mage, but now I am. I am sorry Lucy, but I am not giving you Virgo's key." Naruto replied gently, trying not to be harsh, but wanting to set this straight now.

"What you can't just become a Celestial Mage, you need to devout your entire life to it. Virgo deserves to be mine as I specialise in that kind of magic." Lucy said now getting even more annoyed and embarrassed as Naruto continued to refuse to hand the key over, as in her mind she could look after Virgo much better than he ever could, plus you couldn't just become a Celestial Mage with a click of your fingers, it took practice and experience.

"I think Virgo can make up her own mind, can't you Virgo?" Naruto said turning to Virgo as he did so, maintaining his pleasant demeanour, even if he was starting to get a little irritated now.

"Yes and I have made a contract with you Master, a contract that won't end until you decide to end it or die." Was her curt response, a light frown crossed her face as she looked at Lucy.

"So yeah, I am sorry Lucy but I am keeping the key." Naruto said with finality, drawing a line under the conversation here and now, and making it clear that this was not a debate.

Lucy flushed red at that, before she looked around and saw there were still people, both friends and strangers watching her.

Seeing this, Lucy went an even brighter red, before she turned on her heels and stormed away, a hint of regret passing through her as she did so.

"Awkward."

"Shut up Gray." Naruto said bluntly as he watches the blonde girl stride off. _'Hmm, this could become troublesome later on.'_

"Er, Master forgive me for asking but where exactly is the Meeting Hall?" Erza spoke up trying to break up the tension Lucy's departure caused.

"It's around, I mean some of it is over there, and some of it is over there." Naruto replied, pointing out some of the larger pieces of rubble to the shocked red head as he did so, only to then notice the sudden angry gleam in her brown eyes.

"You mean you destroyed it Master!" Erza stated bluntly as she turned on him with a ferocious scowl on her face.

"Well it wasn't my fault." Naruto said taking a step away from the angry red head his lips curling into a nervous smile as he took a step back from the angry looking woman.

"Oh it was!"

"Yeah I saw him do it!"

"All his fault, you should have seen it!"

All of the other Guild Masters started shouting as they pointed at Naruto, all trying to blame him for the destruction, so they themselves wouldn't be blamed.

"Oh shut you old bastards." Naruto shouted at them.

"Bad Master!"

Sigh.

"Not you too Virgo!"

 **( - )**

 **AN: So yes more chaos with Virgo, and more fighting and what not. That being said this time around I am hoping to develop my Virgo character a bit more than I feel like I did in my original story. Despite that though final pairings are still undecided as I want to let my story develop naturally, because I don't want my story to feel forced, like other ones I have read, where the pairings were not important to the plot, but were decided early on, which led to it all feeling disconnected as people weren't acting in ways you feel they should, and motivations felt flimsy and insubstantial.**

 **So yeah I'm trying a new thing for me, and am letting the pairings develop naturally as I write my story. So I will see how that works. That being said I have put a list of my favourite Fairy Tail characters on my bio page.**

 **********But yeah other than that, this was the chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it and leave a review. ** ** ** **Thanks for reading.******************

 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **Seagate.******************


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Not really got much to say other than here is the chapter and I hope out all like it and leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Naruto.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"You mean you destroyed it Master!" Erza stated bluntly as she turned on him with a ferocious scowl on her face._

 _"Well it wasn't my fault." Naruto said taking a step away from the angry red head, his lips curling into a nervous smile as he took a step back from the ferocious looking woman._

 _"Oh it was!"_

 _"Yeah I saw him do it!"_

 _"All his fault, you should have seen it!"_

 _All of the other Guild Masters started shouting as they pointed at Naruto, all trying to blame him for the destruction, so they themselves wouldn't be blamed._

 _"Oh shut you old bastards." Naruto shouted at them._

 _"Bad Master!"_

 _Sigh._

 _"Not you too Virgo!"_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 10**

 **( - )**

 **(In the Fairy Tail Guild Hall)**

"NARUTOOOO!" A loud, powerful voice bellowed out, so loudly in fact that it caused the entire Guild building to shake, and dust to fall from the ceiling as the source of the shout, a very short man with balding white hair and a large bushy moustache burst into the Fairy Tail Guild Hall.

The little man in question glowing golden with barely contained magical power and wrath as he stormed into the crowded Guild building, the walls and floors trembling from the waves of power he was unleashing and the sound of his voice as he strode through the building and headed for where Naruto was stood. With all those currently occupying the building, flinching at the sudden arrival of the very familiar figure. "I go away for a few months, and in that time Fairy Tail causes more chaos than ever before!"

"Hmm, oh hey Makky I didn't know you were getting back today!" Naruto replied cheerfully from his seat by the Guild's bar, a wooden tankard of ale in his hand and a large smile on his face as he spoke, his blue eyes twinkling as he toasted the arrival of his very loud, and very angry looking son as he did so. "How was the holiday? It looks like you got a tan!"

"Hello Master." Mirajane also spoke up from her place opposite Naruto, and behind the bar, entirely unconcerned about Makarov's display of power as she just happily smiled and waved at him, before she then refilled Naruto's now empty tankard with more ale.

The same though could not be said about the rest of Guild, all of whom were currently diving out of Makarov's range of vision and hiding behind tables and chairs. With some of the more cowardly members, going so far as to flee the building.

"How was the holiday!? Well it was pretty damn nice and relaxing, right up until I heard that you went ahead and destroyed the Clover Town Meeting Hall, and a bunch of other Fairy Tail idiots destroyed Oshibana Town's railway station!" Makarov continued to bellow as he approached Naruto, who in response just pulled a stool around for Makarov to sit on, his smile not fading for a moment despite the magical power Makarov was still flaring as he approached, the floorboards beneath him starting to crack as he did so, and most of the remaining members of the Guild who had not previously run, now fleeing for cover.

"Well at least you managed to relax." Naruto replied cheerfully, before he then nonchalantly chugged his tankard of ale, interpreting his son's bellows in a different way to the other members of the Guild, many of whom were now cowering under tables and sending Naruto looks which basically said; 'what are you doing you idiot?! Don't antagonise him even further!'.

"RELAX!" Makarov shouted again as he reached Naruto, his form beginning to grow larger and larger as he did so, until he towered over his father, standing easily over ten foot high, with hulking shoulders and fists the size of a normal man's torso, "I WILL SHOW YOU RELAXED!"

And with that final shout Makarov threw forward his fist in a devastating right hook, aiming straight at his still grinning father, even as he drew on even more of his **'Titan Magic'** , which in turn caused his arm and fist to grow exponentially bigger, until it was soon the size of a table.

With the Third Guild Master's movements being so quick that many in the Guild Hall almost missed it, though Naruto didn't as his body suddenly erupted into a cloak of crackling lightning, supercharging the receptors in his brain as well as his muscles as he dodged out from under Makarov's two metre wide fist at the last second, and then, with a crack of lighting appeared directly behind his son, the cheerful smile on his face still present for all to see.

"You know, I don't think I deserved that." Naruto said with a light chuckle and a genuine smile as he saw some of the boy's mother's hot-headed anger reflected in his son, even as the older man shrank down to normal size, Naruto's head moving with him as he soon found himself looking down at his still angry son, the cloak of lightning dispersing as he did so.

"No but you deserve this." Makarov replied, his deep voice still containing traces of annoyance as he slammed his elbow backwards, his short stature meaning that his elbow smacked his reckless and often times dismissive father square in his family jewels, an unexpectedly low blow, and one that caught Naruto unawares.

"Ah fuck it!" The blonde cried out as he fell to the floor clutching his painfully throbbing balls, his eyes were watering even as he felt the magic/chakra hybrid energy in his body flowing through him and fixing his ruptured testicle, not that it stopped the pain. "You little shit!"

"And another thing, I am taking back over as Guild Master again." Makarov said completely ignoring Naruto as he climbed onto his father's recently vacated seat, not even sparing the slumped over blonde a look as he instead raised his hand and called for Mira to pour him a drink of ale.

"Of course Master." Mira said cheerfully, unperturbed by the sudden display of violence and anger, something that still had many of the Guild still cowering, as she instead poured Makarov a drink, completely impassive to Naruto's groans and muttered promises of pain and retribution. The beautiful barmaid instead smiling pleasantly at Fairy Tail's new/ old Guild Master.

"So…. Is Naruto still the Guild Master or is the old man the Guild Master?" A confused looking Macao asked into the silence that followed as he took in the scene of a hunched over Naruto, and a casually drinking Makarov, feebly noting that Mira was refilling Naruto's tankard as she waited for the blonde to recover.

"Best not to ask." Wakaba said as he too looked over before he turned back to what he was doing before, with the two of them being among those few who didn't run and hide, after all they had been at Fairy Tail for a long time, and both of them knew that shit like this happened regularly. "Both of them are barking mad so it doesn't matter either way."

"I think I would probably prefer Makarov if it was up to me, at least he seems to give a damn." Loki, a man with spiky orange hair and sun glasses said as he eyed Naruto warily, the orange haired man's words coming as a surprise to some, as he seemingly hadn't had much interaction with the blonde. Certainly not enough to garner such distaste.

"That's a bit harsh on Naruto, he is a pretty good guy!" Macao replied back to Loki, a slight frown on his face as he saw the suspicion, distaste and hint of familiarity on the other wizard's face when he looked at Naruto.

"We'll see." Loki replied, before he turned away, completely ignoring the spectacle now as he instead went to hit on some girl.

"Gah! You little shit." Naruto shouted again, oblivious to the byplay between those around him as he instead lunged forward and tackled Makarov off of his stool, knocking the half empty tankard from his hand as he sent them both crashing into bar.

"Oh my." Mira giggled, a bemused smile on her face as she watch the two Guild Masters of Fairy Tail mock fighting with one another, with Makarov using his Titan Magic to make himself bigger as he got Naruto in a headlock, only for the blonde to bolster his own body with tendrils of purple magic as he broke the grip and sent Makarov flying. The two of them acting like the younger members of the Guild as they brawled, inciting the rest of the Guild to join in after a few moments of hesitation.

 **( - )**

 **(Magical Council Building, Era)**

"Speaking of the recent happenings in Clover Town and Oshibana, can I just say, after seeing the reports, it seems as if the destruction caused to both towns is extreme, and incredibly costly! And what for can I ask, what was it all for? After all, all of this damage, and all of this unnecessary inconvenience achieved nothing. I mean even with most of the Eisenwald members having been arrested and the Guild having gone under, very little was achieved in the grand scheme of things, save for some minor Dark Guild having been removed. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the dissolution of a Dark Guild is bad, but it has done nothing to address the issue of the rest of the Dark Guilds, and the threat they pose to the Kingdom and the Council." A member of the Magic Council spoke out passionately to the other members, as they all assembled in the city of Era to discuss recent events.

With all of them standing in a cycle in a dark room, the light of the blue magic circles they were standing on casting each of them in an eerie light. "Furthermore the whole thing has damaged the reputation of the Council, what with Fairy Tail running amuck and Eisenwald causing trouble completely unopposed."

"Then we should make an example of them." Another Council Member said as he looked around the darkly lit room, his tone filled with irritation as the Council once again discussed the nuisance that was the Fairy Tail Guild, a thorn that had been in the side of the Magic Council since its inception, nearly a hundred years ago.

"How?" Another member asked curiously, looking around as he did so, after all the punishment had to fit the crime, they could not be seen being lenient, not when the Council's reputation had already taken a hit due to this very public mess.

"It's quite simple really, we put all the members of Eisenwald on public trial, those found guilty will either be executed or imprisoned depending on the severity of their crime." The chairman of the Magic Council finally spoke up, his tone unwavering and disinterested as he brushed off the problem of the minor Dark Guild, leaving it to the lower courts to decide their fates.

"Harsh but fair." Another member replied, a thought that was quickly chorused by the other members of the Council. Before his brow furrowed at the thought of the other Guild involved, after all examples needed to be made, however the Fairy Tail Guild was not some minor Dark Guild, no, it was a large, powerful, and highly popular with the masses, and furthermore it was led by one of the Wizard Saints, it wasn't the kind of Guild they could push about, or at least not without it pushing back. "But what of our other problem?"

"You mean Fairy Tail? The one Guild that has been annoying you for years now, the very same one which happened to show up and save the day?" Siegrain, a young man with blue coloured, spikey hair and a reddish tattoo around his right eye, and one of the youngest members of the Magical Council at only twenty one, finally spoke up, his tone filled with amusement and the slightest hint of arrogance. "You do know that they were able to take down nearly the entirety of Eisenwald with only four people. And their temporary Guild Master, some unknown wizard without a shred of a reputation, Naruto Dreyar, was able to beat Eisenwald's Ace and the Demon Flute Lullaby by himself? And for that you want to punish them?"

In response to his words the other Council Members all grumbled in annoyance, especially irritated at the way the young man was bringing up Fairy Tail's accomplishments, and by doing so inferring the Council's lack of action in regards to dealing with the situation.

"I can understand why you don't want to admit the truth, but that's how it is." The blue haired man then continued, his lips curving up into a smug smirk as he looked around at the mostly elder, and irascible Council Members, all of whom looked less than pleased at him for 'speaking out of turn'. "In fact, you should thank them and give them an award or something."

"Like hell we would!" Org, another member of the Council, and an elderly man with a long grey beard and hair yelled, a look of outrage appearing on his face as he glared at the young upstart, one who in his opinion was far too young and immature to be a member of the Council. "Even though what you say is true, they also destroyed an entire town! Do you know how much it will cost to rebuild Oshibana?"

Siegrain chuckled in amusement at that, delighting in the effects his words had on the other Council Members.

"Don't laugh!" A short, squat Council Member with cat like ears on his head, shouted at Siegrain, his beady eyes locked on Siegrain and his voice field with barely contained anger.

"I take it you've all read the reports? And as such know that they make it clear that the only real damage at Oshibana was to the railway station, and that even then it was only partially destroyed in the battle." Yajima another member of the Magic Council, one who had been silent thus far, finally spoke up, interrupting the ongoing argument as he did so. With Yajima being a short, elderly man with thick light brown eyebrows, and a small toothbrush moustache. Incidentally he was also one of the only members without an over the top robe, with him instead choosing to wear a brown, long sleeved shirt with a very odd, black, three-spiked hat.

"Council man Yajima, there really isn't much difference between partially destroyed and completely destroyed, when it comes to property damage! It will need to be fixed all the same." Ultear, yet another member of the Magic Council spoke up with a teasing smile. The young woman in question being the only other Member of the Council, apart from Siegrain, who was under sixty.

With Ultear being an attractive young woman in her early twenties, with slightly pale skin, red lipstick lightly coating her lips, dark purple hair, and piercing brown eyes. She also had a noticeably voluptuous figure and was currently wearing a variation of the Council Member's uniform, consisting of a rather bland white garb that covered her upper and lower body, a dark yellow sash that was tied around her waist, and red collar like object around her neck, as well as the left arm being long sleeved and the right having no sleeve whatsoever. All in all she cut a striking figure, and seemed appeared to be the type that was rather playful in nature, but simultaneously had the capability of being serious when the time called for it.

"Yajima does have a point even if I don't entirely agree with it, their Guild Master; this Naruto Dreyar, an apparent distant relation of Makarov Dreyar, did a decent enough job in retrieving defeating the Lullaby flute." Org said as he looked around the room, his tone filled with finality as he attempted to bring an end to the bickering. "But what matters now is how we choose to approach this matter, we need to be seen to be doing something?"

"They need to be punished!" Another member spoke up, sounding like a broken record as they just ignored everything else that had been said and demanded that sanctions be given.

"We can't punish them for saving lives!" Yajima spoke out firmly, his gaze flashing over to the person that spoke, a look of distaste on his face as he did so.

"Well we can't just let them off the hook! If we leave them be then other Guilds may start to believe that they can get away with similar acts of destruction without any consequences!" Org responded to Yajima, his tone holding irritation once again as the debate seemed to start up again. "As I said before we have to be seen to be doing something, we need to make the other wizards aware that we are still here, and that vandalism and excessive property, no matter the reason will not go unpunished!"

"Well then I have an idea." The other members of the Magic Council all looked over Siegrain as he spoke again, most of them looking irritated that the young man was once again butting in. Still he was a member of the Magic Council, even if some did not deem him worthy of it, so they listened. "If we can't punish all of them, then why don't we make an example of just one of them?"

The Chairman of the Magic Council, a fat, bearded man by the name of Crawford Seam leant forward as he heard that, his small piggy eyes locked on Siegrain. "What are you proposing, Siegrain?"

"We require a scapegoat from Fairy Tail, someone who is well known, so the impact of our actions will carry more weight. On top of that we will also require an audience with this Naruto Dreyar, someone that powerful should be known to us, and the fact he has somehow gone by unnoticed thus far is worrying and will require investigation. However, simply bringing him along as the scapegoat won't be enough, therefore I suggest we pick an iconic Fairy Tail wizard and play it off as having both of them being punished." Siegrain suggested, smirking as that idea seemed to sit very well with the other members of the Council, all of them not nodding and mumbling their approval, all except Yajima of course, who just scowled at the proposal.

"Interesting, so you are suggesting that we bring Naruto Dreyar in alongside another and use that as an excuse to question him? Hmm, that would work out rather well for us, and seeing as how it allows us to hit two birds with one stone I do not see any reason to reject your plan." Org replied after a few moments, his tone slow and steady, and his words slightly stilited as if he really didn't want to accept Siegrain's proposal, even if it was the best one yet. "Though it must be handled with care, even if Naruto Dreyar is only a stand in for the original Guild Master of Fairy Tail, he still will wield some level of influence, Fairy Tail is one of the strongest Guilds in Fiore after all."

"Still, who would you suggest we bring in alongside Fairy Tail's current Guild Master?" Ultear inquired, before giving Siegrain a lazy smirk as he began to reply, with her already guessing just who the blue haired man would want to bring along. The man was so predictable, and also so obsessed.

"Oh, I know just the person…" Siegrain replied, a sly smirk now stretching across his face.

 **( - )**

 **(In Magnolia)**

Lucy Heartfilia let out a great sigh as she set down her pen on her desk, after which she then read over the letter she had just written to her mother, her hazel eyes scanning sadly over the neatly written words.

It was good enough Lucy thought, before she let loose another sigh and nodded to herself, after which she then folded it up carefully and placed it in an envelope, one which she then put in her desk draw.

With that done she then let loose another sigh, suddenly feeling stiff from having been hunched over her desk for the last hour or so. This of course led to her leaning back in her chair and stretching out her arms, before she then stretched her legs out from where they were under her desk.

"Ahhh, nothing beats being able to relax in your own home, especially after that whole Eisenwald mess, and, dealing with Naruto." Lucy mumbled to herself, audibly airing her grievances to the empty apartment as oppose to just bottling it up inside.

Even so, a scowl did still cross her face. After all she was still quite frustrated that the blonde didn't just hand over Virgo's key to her, she knew she was being bratty and a little selfish, but she couldn't help it. She had learnt how to use the Celestial Spirit Keys and trained herself to be a true Celestial Wizard, like her mother. She had dedicated her life to this type of magic, with the aim of collecting all twelve of the golden keys, otherwise known as the zodiac keys, Naruto however had no idea what he was doing, and was just dabbling, with him probably not knowing the first thing about spirits and how to look after and care for them.

Again she knew she was acting a little spoiled, but she couldn't help it. Celestial Spirit Magic wasn't the flashiest and most powerful of magic's out there, but it was the one she had chosen, and to her it felt like Naruto was making a mockery of that with his actions, and had impeded her from reaching her goal.

It was just frustrating.

Lucy let out another irritated sigh at that, however before she could dwell anymore on the thought of the other blonde, she was interrupted from her relaxation by a sudden, familiar and entirely unwelcome voice unexpectedly speaking up behind.

"You know, you've got a nice place here, Lucy."

Letting out a startled shriek, the blonde teenager immediately whirled around in her chair, only to see a half-naked Gray Fullbuster sitting on her bed, his hands behind his head as he relaxed and eyed up her apartment.

Upon noticing her attention focused on him though, he broke off from looking around and instead decided to give her a cheeky little wave.

"W-What are you doing in here? You... you perverted trespasser!" Lucy managed to stutter out in surprise as she looked at the dark haired ice mage, noting as she did that he was alone in the room with her, and was practically naked.

"That's a bit harsh you know, I may be trespassing but I am not a pervert." Gray replied, his smile fading as a mock offended look passed across his face at the accusation.

"Get out of my house perv!" Was the only response Lucy gave him as she grabbed the nearest thing to her, a book, and threw it at him, aiming for his once again grinning face.

Gray closed his eyes and sighed when he heard that before he almost nonchalantly shifted his head to the side and avoided the projectile. "Hey now take it easy. I just came to get you in case you wanted to see the spar."

Lucy's sudden bout of rage subsided for a moment as she heard that, the blonde sending Gray a confused look now. "Spar?"

The other teen rolled his eyes in response to Lucy, before he let his arms fall back to his sides. "Yeah, remember how Natsu challenged Erza before we set off for Oshibana, well they're about to start duking it out."

"What? Really? How long until it starts?" Lucy asked, her eyes widening as she swung around to fully face Gray now, her mind flicking back to how Natsu foolishly challenged Erza to a fight before they set off on their mission to put down Erigor.

"Yeah. They'll be starting any minute. I'm leaving to go there now." Gray replied easily as he jumped up from the bed and headed to the door, looking over his shoulder as he did so. "I just thought I would drop in on you first, just in case you forgot about it."

"Hey! Hold on, I'm coming too! Are they really serious about this?" Lucy cried out as she got up, grabbed her coat, and quickly followed the ice mage, her previous outrage over his intrusion now forgotten.

"Yes, yes they are. Oh yeah, and by the way Master Makarov, the Guild Master before Naruto, has come back to the Guild and has taken over from Naruto!" Gray continued as he walked through the front door of Lucy's apartment. "Since you've not met him yet, I thought I would give you a heads up on that too, he's the short old man in the orange and blue outfit."

"Wait what?" Lucy shouted as she ran after Gray, hurrying out of her apartment as she chased after the all but naked Ice Wizard.

 **( - )**

 **(Back at the Fairy Tal Guild)**

It was as Gray and Lucy were hurrying over to the Guild Hall, that the two of them noticed how most of the Fairy Tail members, and several dozen other residents of Magnolia had all gathered in front of the homely building, creating a big, crowded circle in the street, one that was directly in front of Guild Hall's main doors.

Slipping through the loud, bustling and lively crowd, both Gray and Lucy pushed and shoved their way to the front, where they could see that wide open space had been made in the middle of the crowd for the two Fairy Tail mages that were about to face off.

One of them a pink haired, wildly grinning teen, who was currently going through a set of stretches. Whilst the other was the red haired, Titania of Fairy Tail, who at present had an expression which somehow exuded, resignation, boredom and amusement in equal measure.

"Wait hold on! Are these two really serious about this? Why would they want to fight in front of all these people, and in the middle of the street too!?" Lucy shouted out as she and Gray made it to the front, and looked on at the two powerful wizards.

It was as she spoke, that her loud voice carried, attracting the attention of several other people in the crowd, some of whom turned to look at her, including several other members of the Guild. With the one who replied to her question being the obnoxiously, big, brawny and loud Elfman, who stood a full head higher than everyone else in the crowd. "Of course they're serious. If they weren't, then they wouldn't be real men!"

"Erza's not a man though…" Mira, Elfman's sister, pointed out blankly from her place in the crowd next to him, her lips curling up in amusement as she saw Elfman twitch at her words, after which she then sent Lucy a warm welcoming smile. "Hi Lucy!"

"Hey Mira." Lucy replied with a slight smile, waving back to the chipper barmaid as she did so, before she was distracted when another member of Fairy Tail spoke up.

"Yeah, but you've got to admit, she's pretty manly." Macao said jokingly from a couple of feet away, with Wakaba chuckling and nodding along in agreement.

Elfman however just coughed awkwardly to himself and scratched idly at the scar on his face, choosing the wise option of not commenting further, especially since he knew his sister, despite how sweet she appeared and acted, was an absolute demon, and would continue to pick holes in anything he said and then tease him about, basically doing what all older siblings did.

Ignoring Macou's comment, a look of genuine concern crossed Lucy's face as she once again looked between the two wizards, after which she decided to voice her concerns to the others around them, "Aren't you worried that this fight could tear apart Fairy Tail's strongest team? I mean it wouldn't it be pretty bad if two of the strongest people in Fairy Tail fight?"

"Strongest team, what are you talking about?" Gray asked amusedly from his place next to Lucy, tearing his gaze away from what he hoped would be a one-sided beat down to instead look over at the blonde.

"You, Natsu, and Erza are Fairy Tail's strongest wizards, right?" Lucy replied as she looked around at all her fellow Guild members, each of whom had a look of surprise and amusement on their faces at her statement.

"What idiot fed you that lie?" Gray scoffed, snorting in amusement at the idea that either Natsu or himself were the strongest in Fairy Tail, even if Erza, as an S-Class wizard, was probably on a par with some of the stronger members, there were much stronger wizards in Fairy Tail than either him or Natsu. Not even Gray could deny that.

An instant later the white haired barmaid Mira began to cry as a result of being thoroughly insulted by Gray, though whether or not she was actually upset, or just playing around to get Gray in trouble was questionable, either way it caused most of the surrounding people to glare at Gray for making such a cute girl 'cry'.

"I didn't mean it like that Mira!" Gray shouted worriedly as he attempted to calm Mira, having not realised she was putting on an act to get just such a reaction from him, with him instead being more worried about the hostile glares of those around him.

"Natsu and Gray are tough, I'll give them that, but they're not even close to being the strongest. There are wizards in Fairy Tail that are far stronger than the two of them combined." Elfman stated matter-of-factly, not too bothered about his sister's theatrics, after all he knew his mischievous sister well enough to realise when she was faking.

"Still it's a pretty safe bet that Erza's the strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail." Levy commented her eyes flickering over to Mira for a moment as she did so, even as she along with her teammates decided to butt in on the conversation, the group of three having arrived and pushed their way through the crowd of spectators' midway through the conversation.

"Yeah, but if we're talking about the strongest male I'd say it's probably Naruto when it comes to the standard members. I mean he beat Erza and Laxus in a one on one fight." Elfman commented, getting a look of shock from Lucy as he did so, even as he scratched his chin in thought. "Though Mystogen is supposed to be pretty tough, and then there is Master Makarov and Gildarts the Ace of Fairy Tail. I am not too sure who would win if they were all to fight, though I don't think Mystogen is on the same level as the others, nor do I think Naruto could match up to either Makarov or Gildarts, I mean he is pretty young and doesn't really have much of a reputation."

The others nodded at that, though Macou and Wakaba shared a look, after all the pair of them had discussed it and were certain that they had met Naruto before, though for the life of them they couldn't remember when or where, either way they both had an inkling that Fairy Tail's Fourth Master was capable of far more than he let on.

"Still, I'm interested to see how this fight turns out." Lucy stated as she absorbed what Elfman had just said, noting the names Makarov and Gildarts as she did so, after all she had heard of them both, in fact the pair of them were famous wizards, but she'd never met either of them in person, nor had she met this Mystogen.

Shaking her head at that, the blonde then turned and directed her gaze back towards where the fight was going to take place. Nothing had happened as of yet, as both of the two wizards just seemed to be staring each other down, with Natsu dancing slightly around on the spot trying to psych himself up, whilst Erza just looked a little impatient.

"I bet she'll mop the floor with him." Gray said, smirking at the prospect. Natsu may be his Guild mate and sort of a friend/ rival, but he was still a pain in the arse, and so the Ice Wizard was more than

looking forward to seeing him getting the crap kicked out of him by Erza.

Before anyone could rebuke Gray, or say anything else, the group's conversation was suddenly interrupted by a large flash of golden light, one which engulfed Erza's body for a few moments, before it began to fade as she equipped one of her various armours. The sudden action silencing the crowd, as they waited to see which armour she would choose.

When the transformation did finally came full circle, her new appearance was revealed. With her armour being made up of gauntlets that resembled dragon's limbs, and a breastplate, gauntlets and greaves, which left her shoulders as well as her upper arms and thighs exposed. With this armour, like many of her others, being somewhat more revealing than strictly necessary.

The armour itself was predominantly red, but also sported several orange and black parts that took on a shape similar to flames. Her hair had also become tied up in two separate, long pigtails by two hair clips which gave off the appearance of obsidian dragon horns. All of which was likely more for aesthetic reasons, than anything else. Then finally, she was now wielding a sword in her right hand, one which had a long, slightly jagged, crimson blade. A blade which appeared as if the steel it was made of was trying to burst into fire.

"That's Erza's **'Flame Empress Armor'**." Macao stated an impressed look on his face, though whether it was for Erza's rather obviously choice of armour when facing off with a Fire Wizard, or due to how striking and revealing the armour was, was up for debate.

"Aw, come on Erza, at least give the kid a chance." Wakaba shouted from beside Macou, a slight mocking note to his voice, as he made it clear as to all just who his money was on to win.

Before Lucy could ask about the specifics of this particular armour, though she could guess, there was a sudden, but brief explosion as Natsu let loose with one of his own techniques as he rushed Erza, the both of them suddenly moving so fast that Lucy could barely follow their battle as they collided. Though she certainly felt the aftereffects, because as they did slam into one another, a large burst of hot wind exploded outwards from the point of contact and into the surrounding crowd, almost knocking her backwards onto her rear as it did so.

Steadying herself, Lucy couldn't help but wince as she saw one of Erza's armoured boots catch Natsu square in the face; it was so clear it was almost as if it happened in slow motion.

Not to be outdone, Natsu rolled with the kick, moving his entire body in a full rotational circle so that he faced Erza again. However, as he was turning around, he sucked in a large breath of air and prepared a Fire Dragons Roar in his mouth before he promptly launched it at her as soon as she was in his sights again.

Erza though took it in stride, with her wasting no time in dodging it, before with a smirk on her face, she once again blasted towards Natsu, her sword held behind her ready to deal a critical, but not deadly, strike to the fire mage.

Natsu however reacted too, as he without a second thought he used a blast of fire from his feet to exploded forward and bulrush the charging Erza, his fist covered in fire as he made to strike Erza with a **'Fire Dragon's Iron Fist'**.

However before the two of them could once again engage in battle, they were interrupted by a loud clapping noise, one which caused both of them to freeze in mid-swing as someone interrupted the fight, forcing their way through the crowd and into the open space in the middle.

Following on from that a rather feminine, if nasally, voice spoke out, causing the jeering and booing crowd to quiet down as they focused on the source of the voice, and saw who it was that had interfered in the fight.

"This fight is over." A very frog like being said as it made its way through the crowd, the being's amphibian like appearance and expensive robes, getting a number of reactions from those around it,

though from the sound of its voice Lucy was able to identify that it was probably female. And while shorter than most humans in the crowd, it was definitely humanoid, though it had the head of a frog and webbed hands. On top of that her expensive robes, looked almost like a uniform, giving her a somewhat official appearance.

"May I have your attention please; I have come here on behalf of the Magic Council." The frog like messenger said as she came to halt in the centre of the impromptu arena, her chest swelling up with her own self-importance.

Silence fell across the crowd as they heard that, even as the Fairy Tail members all started looking uncomfortable and nervous at her words, after all it was common knowledge that the Council wasn't fond of the Guild and its rambunctious members.

Before anyone could respond to the Council's messenger though, they were interrupted by another voice, as Naruto, the now former Guild Master of Fairy Tail, made his way on to the scene, the crowd around him parting as he spoke, which allowed him to walk into the impromptu fighting arena as well, his blue eyes shifting over to Natsu and Erza, before looking onto the messenger. "What do you want?"

"As a result of the recent Eisenwald incident and the destruction of the Clover Town Meeting Hall, two members of your Guild are to be arrested and attend a trial where you will be judged in accordance with the laws of the land. Erza Scarlet and Naruto Dreyar you are to come with me and stand trial." The messenger replied bluntly, her words shocking everyone present, and her officious and confident demeanour cowing some of the watching Guild members.

"They're going to stand what?!" Natsu shouted out in response to this, the dragon slayer instantly lighting up his fists with fire and going to stand in front of the scarlet-haired wizard as he did so, obviously desiring to prevent her from leaving as he instead glared at the messenger.

"What?!"

"What do you mean Erza's being arrested?!"

"What for?!"

The other Fairy Tail members in the crowd muttered, a sudden surge of dissatisfaction sweeping over the crowd as those present began to grumble and protest to the messenger's words.

The frog took a step forward in response to the protests, her dispassionate gaze passing over Natsu coolly for a moment, before looking over his shoulder and instead at Erza. "I'm sorry Miss Scarlet and Mr Dreyar, but I'm going to need you to come with me."

"Hmm, I'm going to say no." Naruto replied bluntly, his usual cheer fading from his face as he locked eyes with the messenger.

"I am here on behalf of the Magic Council!" The frog woman spoke up her tone turning frostier, a look of faint surprise passing over her face at his resistance.

"Again I'm going to have to say no." Naruto said again unimpressed.

"It was not a request." The frog said clicking her fingers as she did so, causing several armoured Rune Knights to shove through the crowd and flank the frog messenger, spears and shields held threateningly in their hands, and hard looks on their faces.

"Naruto we should just go with them." Erza finally spoke up, her voice cutting through the tension like a knife.

"Again no." Naruto said ignoring the glare from Erza and the council messenger. "What right do the Council have to make us their scapegoat for this whole mess? They already have most of Eisenwald behind bars and have sworn statements from numerous Guild Masters about the happenings in Clover Town, this is a farce and I refuse to accept this injustice."

"You are a wizard and so cannot refuse the Magic Council, if you do so there will be consequences!" The messenger replied haughtily her eyes narrowing, and the Rune Knights shifting about, their grips on their weapons tightening.

"Oh I am sure there will, but there will also be consequences for the Magic Council. Just think what the King of Fiore will say when he hears how the Magic Council failed to act to contain the situation and instead relied on Fairy Tail to do their work for them. And that is not even taking into account what the King and the rest of Fiore will say when they hear how an entire battalion of the Council's Rune Knights fled like cowards from Lullaby and left the Guild Masters to fend for themselves." Naruto said harshly, completely disinterested in diplomacy as he laid into the messenger. He had never liked corruption or people blaming him for something he hadn't done, he'd had enough of that growing up, and he was a man now, many years older and many years wiser than he had been. In fact his younger self would probably barely recognise the man he had become, though he would likely be proud of who he was now, and as such he would not accept this shit.

"W-What!" The messenger replied back stepping as she heard Naruto's comment.

"You heard me, now leave and tell the Council to find another patsy, otherwise I will go to the King about this and then we will see what he does. My guess would be sanctions and a large budget cut, so I wouldn't hold out too much hope over keeping your job." Naruto continued as he took a step forward his body crackling with lightning, the ground around him beginning to crack as he did so.

The sudden display of power being enough to give the messenger and her Rune Knights second thoughts as the backed away quickly, the smell of ozone filling the noses of those in the crowd, as Naruto's blue eyes began to glow violet

"I will return to my superiors and update them on this." The messenger said quite nervously now, very much aware of the numerous scowling Guild wizards that surrounded her and her escort now, and of the visible display of magic in front of her.

"Good, now if you would be so kind. Piss off!" Naruto replied irritably, before he looked away, the lightning cloak beginning to fade as he completely dismissed the messenger and her soldiers

Backing away hastily, the Council representative did exactly that, throwing Naruto a filthy look over her shoulder as she did so, her Rune Knights following after her as she shoved her way through the now chuckling crowd.

"Ohh shit that was awesome!" Gray shouted out as he watched the Council messenger flee, some of the members of the crowd jeering and taunting her as she did so.

"What a man!" Elfman shouted as he and many other members of Fairy Tail cheered Naruto on, celebrating how he had stood up to the Council.

"What the hell do you think you were doing!?" Makarov interrupted as he marched into the centre of the circle a scowl on his face as he locked gazes with his father.

"Making a stand Makky, the Magic Council hasn't exactly been subtle in their hatred towards us so I very much doubt we can sink any lower in their eyes. But at least now they know that we won't take their crap lying down. I thought you knew Makky the best way to make a bully back off is to show you aren't scared of them." Naruto replied with a sagely nod, his lips curling upwards as he noted how his son's face was turning bright red face. "Besides I told the truth, they are just looking for a scapegoat in order to cover up their own incompetence."

"You've still painted a target on our backs!" Makarov snapped back churlishly, even as he tried to refute his father's words.

"Meh, we already had one on our backs anyway." Naruto repleid blandly.

"Master Makarov should I go after the messenger and give her an apology?" Erza said in a solemn tone as she took a step forward.

"No, there is no real point, after all what's done is done." Makarov sighed before sending Naruto a slight scowl which soon turned into a smirk. "Besides Naruto does have a point."

"Ha! I knew you would see things my way Makky!" Naruto laughed out with a smile. "Now let's all go to the bar and get shit faced!"

That received a large cheer from many members of the Guild as they started to pile into the main hall.

"By the way Mira I have someone I want you to meet, it is a new friend of mine called Virgo, and I think the two of you will get along well." Naruto said as he walked into the Guild, Mirajane walking at his side.

"Ermm, what just happened?" Lucy asked as she still tried to process what had just happened, allowing herself to be swept up by the crowd as they headed inside, the previous fight now forgotten.

"Shit happens Lucy, welcome to Fairy Tail." Gray replied as he grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her into the Guild hall with him, ignoring Natsu's complaints over how the fight hadn't finished.

 **( - )**

 **(Elsewhere, sometime later)**

Far away from Magnolia, a tall, pale man, with waist length black hair strode through a large, stone chamber, heading for the throne at the end of the hall, where a shadowed figure was currently sat.

As he walked the dark haired man licked his lips nervously, his fingers twitched and playing with the cuffs of his knee length coat as he prepared to relay some bad news to his leader, his leader who inspired loyalty through terror, and was devoid of mercy, or pity.

The man's paused for a single moment at that thought, after all he was going to be relaying some bad news, news which might lead to his master lashing out in anger, as he often did when hearing things that displeased him, with his Guild Master being the type of man who believed it literally gutting the messenger if they displeased him.

The dark haired man swallowed the lump in his throat at that thought before forging on, after all as bad as his master could be when brining him bad news, he was even worse when it came to someone shirking their duties and hiding things from him.

"Mard how good to see you, tell me what news do you bring me?" A deep, rich voice spoke out, the tone surprisingly pleasant and seemingly filled with good humour, with it being a voice that could very easily lull someone into believe that the speaker was a kind, warm person, one who was your friend. Which was ironic considering the monster the voice belonged to.

"Master." Mard replied, falling on one knee before the man as he did so, his wide eyes fixed on the ground, and unwilling to look up at the kindly smile on the man's face, and the twinkling eyes, after all he knew what kind of a monster dwelled behind those kind eyes and warm, inviting smile. "I bring news Master, of Lullaby."

"Oh, and how is Lullaby, the 'flute of Zeref'?" The man in the throne asked in amusement, his tone telling Mard just what he thought of the fact that Lullaby's existence was tied to a flute, as oppose to a book, like most of Zeref's other demons were.

"I, I am afraid he's dead Master." Mard replied, a trickle of sweat running down his face at the silence that followed, as he continued to star at the stone floor of the chamber, not daring to look up, in case it incited his Master's wrath.

"Hmm, well not to worry, I am sure he deserved it." The man in the throne chuckled, the sound echoing quite pleasantly around the hall. "Still it is a little irritating."

"Y-yes Master." Mard gasped out, relief flooding him at the realisation that his Master was not angry, though he didn't let his guard down, not when his Master was so unpredictable.

"Ah well, I suppose we will just need to progress the plan without him." His Master replied, the smile on his face, evident in his tone.

Mard looked up at that, his dark eyes locking onto his Master's warm violet ones as he did so, a quiver of fear running though him at the cruelty, violence and wrath that he knew was hidden within their depths. "Y-yes, Master."

 **( - )**

 **AN: So there it is, what do you all think? I hope you enjoyed it and leave a nice long review.**

 **Also if you have some free time checkout my other stories.**

 **And for those that are interested the re-write of my Naruto/ DxD story, the 'Ten Tailed Wolf', has begun. So that will be coming soon, on a page near you…**

 **Thanks for reading, and I'll see you later.**

 **Seagate.**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: So happy New Year's everyone, I hope you all had a good one, and a good New Year to come. And with the new year comes another update for one of my stories, as I decided to set a bit of my limited time over Christmas aside to finish at least one chapter, and publish it. So I hope you all enjoy the chapter and leave a review.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Naruto.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"_ _I, I am afraid he's dead Master." Mard replied, a trickle of sweat running down his face at the silence that followed, as he continued to star at the stone floor of the chamber, not daring to look up, in case it incited his Master's wrath._

 _"_ _Hmm, well not to worry, I am sure he deserved it." The man in the throne chuckled, the sound echoing quite pleasantly around the hall. "Still it is a little irritating."_

 _"_ _Y-yes Master." Mard gasped out, relief flooding him at the realisation that his Master was not angry, though he didn't let his guard down, not when his Master was so unpredictable._

 _"_ _Ah well, I suppose we will just need to progress the plan without him." His Master replied, the smile on his face, evident in his tone._

 _Mard looked up at that, his dark eyes locking onto his Master's warm violet ones as he did so, a quiver of fear running though him at the cruelty, violence and wrath that he knew was hidden within their depths. "Y-yes, Master."_

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 11**

 **( - )**

 **(In the streets outside of the Fairy Tail Guild Hall)**

There were a few moments of silence amongst the large crowd of Fairy Tail Wizards and spectators, as the Council's haughty, amphibian representative beat a swift retreat, her guards running after her. That silence however was soon ended though as all the Guild members either burst into laughter or just started cheering and jeering, uncaring of the fact that the frog like herald was still probably able to hear them.

It was as the assembled crowd descended into raucous cheering and celebrating though, that the ever loud and obnoxious voice of the Fire Dragon Slayer, Natsu Dragneel, cut through the noise.

"Erza!" Natsu shouted, grabbing the attention of those around him, slamming his flaming fists together in front of him as he did so. "Let's continue where we left off! Get ready, because I'm about to beat you!"

"No, I'm not in the mood. Not at the moment anyway." Erza replied calmly, her brown eyes flicking over to Natsu, before she looked away, a stoic expression on her face. The red head clearly not as enthusiastic as the others over Naruto's treatment of the Council Official, after all these things tended to come with consequences, if not for the powerful blonde, then possibly for the Guild as a whole.

Natsu though, being somewhat dense, was unable to read Erza's current mood, which mean, that instead of backing off, as the sensible approach would have been. No, instead the hot headed Fire Dragon Slayer instead rushed towards Erza, his fist enshrouded in flames as he pulled it back and prepared to strike, a roar of anticipation issuing forth from his lips.

Naruto upon seeing this, could only look on eagerly, along with the many others who were watching the ongoing train wreck, he just couldn't look away, no that he really wanted to though. After all he could almost predict what was going to happen next.

Which was why he was not disappointed when Erza twisted around, a look of irritation on her face as she dropped the charging boy with one firm punch to the stomach, knocking all of the air out of his lungs and sending him slumping to the floor with a gurgle, even as the surrounding crowd froze for a moment in shock, after which they then began cheering and laughing.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime Later)**

"You know, it does come in handy doesn't it, you know when Natsu gets rowdy and just doesn't think things through? Or at least it's certainly amusing." Naruto said cheerfully from his place besides Makarov at the guild bar, a few minutes later as the Fairy Tail Wizards once again went inside, where they almost instantly set about partying, laughing and bragging. The blonde still chuckling at the almost anticlimactic end to the hyped up fight, one that Erza had ended with a single punch, though from the way she went about it Naruto expected she'd had plenty of practice throughout the years taking Natsu down a peg when he got too noisy and full of himself.

"You know you could always take him aside and give him a bit of training, it could do the boy good." Makarov spoke up from where he was sitting on the bar besides Naruto, his gaze somewhat amused as he saw his father's smile. "I mean you've got a lot of experience, both in fighting and wielding magic, you could definitely give him some pointers, some of the other members of the Guild too, if you were minded."

"Pass." Naruto said firmly, maybe a bit too firmly, before he expanded a little bit on at least some of his reasoning "I would rather not, I was never a very good teacher, despite what people may think, and I very much doubt Natsu would be a good student, eager yes but actually good at learning? Somehow I doubt it. No it would be best if I just left him to it, same with the rest of your brats, let them grow and develop into Wizards at their own pace and in their own way."

"You don't give him enough credit." Makarov said reproachfully, not that he was that surprised by his father's refusal. The man had always been a mystery to Makarov, he had been a bit of a standoffish father, one who was often absent from his life for years at a time, with him having never really connected to Makarov, nor Ivan, Makarov's son and his grandson, yet despite that he was also fiercely loyal to his friends and family, and was also capable of great kindness and generosity. He had a great power and a wealth of knowledge and experience, yet kept most of it to himself, he only shared or helped when necessary, as otherwise he tended to let things pass without his interference.

Naruto shrugged in response to that, after which he looked around at the rest of the Guild, all of whom were still laughing and joking over the anticlimactic end of Natsu's long awaited fight with Erza, and the confrontation with the Council Official.

Looking around, Naruto couldn't help but crack a small, genuine smile as he saw how the Guild was just having fun, and just enjoying one another's company.

'Damn Fairy Tail, they managed to make me get attached again' Naruto thought with a sigh as he looked around fondly at the Guild, and all of the members, whom he had once again, grudgingly, begun to think of as his friends, and maybe even family, a very extended, distant and dysfunctional family, but his family all the same.

Slowly though, the laughter began to trail off, as everyone suddenly began to feel sleepy, before one by one they collapsed to the floor, or slumped over tables. The majority of them, suddenly, and unexpectedly doze off, though not naturally, but rather due to a potent type of **'Sleeping Charm Magic'** which had started to seep through the air, the tricky magic trying to enchant everyone present as it spread throughout the building.

Even Naruto, who was still sat at the bar with Makarov, could feel the magic trying to ensnare him, and lull him to sleep. Though unlike many others in the room though he was able to resist long enough for him to release a sudden pulse of magic from his body, his form crackling with electricity for a moment, as he easily dispelled the spell, dispelling this spell in the same manner than he had been trained to get break a genjutsu, many, many years ago, back in Konoha.

With that done however, Naruto then proceeded to watch in amusement as the majority of the other Fairy Tail Wizards collapsed onto the Guild's wooden floor, or on tables and chairs; some of them even starting to snore as they slipped out of consciousness.

Of course aside from him Makarov was the only one able to remain awake, though Erza did make a token effort, as she stayed standing longer than most, before she collapsed to the floor, only semiconscious.

That being said Naruto was also pretty sure that Laxus, who was skulking around on the top floor, had also been able to dispel Mystogen's Sleeping Spell, which was to be expected really, especially considering his status as an S-Class Wizard, which spoke of his skill and power, that and his lineage as both Makarov's grandson, and Naruto's great grandson.

"Mystogen," Naruto greeted easily as she stood up off his stool, after which he casually leant against the bar, his hand idly rummaging around behind the bar as he did so, searching for a cheeky bottle of booze he could snag whilst Mira was catching some 'ZZZs'.

Mystogen, a masked, and mysterious man, and one of Fairy Tail's S-Class wizards nodded a greeting to Naruto as he quietly entered the building, his body completely covered up with a mixture of blue and black cloth and white bandaging. With him having several magical staffs attached to his back, one of which made a tinkling sound, as a small bell on the staff rang out quietly, even as the mage strolled up to the Guild's request board, which upon reaching he haphazardly ripped off an A-rank mission posting from the board.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he saw this, casually observing the mysterious man from the corner of his eyes. After all he did find it somewhat odd that the man, an S-Class Wizard of some repute, chose just an A-rank mission, as oppose to a higher grade mission from the S-Class board on the second floor, not that he was going to pry. The man was entitled to his secrets, as long as he didn't endanger the Guild or its reputation he could dress and act in any way he chose.

Don't get him wrong, he didn't really have any reason to trust Mystogen, as he had never seen his face, and having never had a proper conversation with him, however he trusted his son, Makarov, and if Fairy Tail's esteemed Third Master vouched for him, then Naruto would leave him to it. It was just a shame that he couldn't see the man's face, or sense emotions, as he had no idea what the man was thinking and feeling.

"Mystogen, dispel your Sleeping Spell before you leave?" Makarov stated bluntly from his spot on the bar, ignoring Naruto's petty theft, as the blonde, former Guild Master succeeded in grabbing a bottle of whiskey, which he then opened by ripping the cork out with a corkscrew made out of his purple magic.

Mystogen nodded at that, before he turned await and started to walk out of the Guild, softly and quietly counting down from ten as he did so, before when he reached one, he broke his sleep spell and left the Guild Hall.

'Hmm, I wonder if he would have made a good Shinobi' Naruto thought to himself as he watched Fairy Tail's most mysterious member leave. Not that Naruto was that good of a Shinobi himself, he had been quick and good in a scrap, but the whole subtlety and stealth factor involved with being a Shinobi, had never really been his forte. He had been decent enough, but there had also been many, many other Shinobi, both in the Village and outside of it, that had been better at that side of being a Shinobi than him.

Shaking his head at that random thought, Naruto instead took advantage of his fortune situation, smirking to himself in hidden glee as he opened his pilfered bottle of whiskey and took a swig, delighting in the burn feeling of the pure spirit running down his throat, and the warm feeling he had in his stomach when it settled.

"You do realise that you will be paying for that don't you?" Makarov said as he shot Naruto a disapproving look, even as the rest of the Guild began to stir and wake up.

"Come on now Makky give your old man a break." Naruto barked out with a laugh, before he took another swig, after which he made a gesture to his son over whether or not he wanted some too.

A gesture that Makarov quickly reciprocated, rolling his eyes in amusement as he grabbed the bottle from Naruto and took a large swig of his own, even as the two of them amusedly watched the rest of the Guild wake up and realise what had just happened.

 **( - )**

 **(A few moments later)**

Slowly as Makarov and Naruto were drinking and chuckling, the slumbering members of Fairy Tail awoke from their impromptu naps, with some of them cursing out the now absent Mystogen as they did so. Especially Jet who had collapsed unconscious and spilt a tankard of ale over himself.

"Mystogen?" Lucy asked sleepily, hiding a yawn as she got up off the wooden floor before she looked around in confusion, somewhat befuddled as to what had just happened.

"One of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail," Mira replied as she got up from where she had fallen behind the bar, rubbing her head as she did so, before she swept her long, silky white hair back over her should, after which she shot Naruto a suspicious look as she noticed him drinking from a brand new bottle of booze, one that he hadn't had before Mystogen's entrance.

"He does this because he doesn't want other members to see his face," Gray spoke up, looking to Lucy as he did so, and expanding upon Mira's answer to the blonde's question, even as he answered the one he suspected she would ask next; such as just why the hell Mystogen is so damn mysterious.

"With good reason probably." Naruto hiccupped out as he casually threw his bottle of pilfered booze away, with Droy catching it in confusion, before he scowled as he realised he now had an empty bottle of booze that he needed to dispose of. "It would be a whole lot of wasted effort if he didn't have a good reason, after all that **'Sleeping Spell'** of his is a pretty powerful and complicated spell, I mean even Mira and Erza were caught by it."

"Clearly not good enough if you managed to stay awake though," Gray pointed out irritably, having noticed how Naruto seemed completely unaffected by Mystogen's spell. Which was annoying considering the blonde looked only a couple of years old than him, after all Makarov was one thing, he was an old and exceedingly power Wizard, but Naruto, he was good in a fight, but he didn't really have a reputation, nor did he seem to have quite the level of magical power and experience that Makarov had.

Naruto shot him a smug grin in response to that. Not really that offended if Gray thought that a mere **'Sleeping Spell'** like that would do anything to him, though the boy should have known better, after all he was made Fairy Tail's temporary Guild Master for a reason, and it wansn't just for his charming personality.

"Hey to be fair, as far as I noticed everyone except Makarov, and I, all fell asleep, though I suppose that might be because we are Dreyar's and you know not pussies like you." Naruto replied with a taunting smirk to Gray, which was made worse by Makarov's bark of laughter when he saw Gray's sour expression.

"Fine." Gray conceded. "But anyway, no one besides them, I suppose, knows what Mystogen looks like. Though it's possible even they don't know what he looks like, as he apparently wears a mask for some reason."

Naruto shrugged at that, and was in fact about to throw Gray a bone and admit to him that Naruto did not actually know what Mystogen looked like, when Laxus spoke up interrupting him, and confirming what Naruto suspected, that the blonde had been lurking upstairs this entire time.

"No, I know what he looks like," Laxus interrupted arrogantly as he made his location on the second floor apparent, leaning over the wooden balustrade as he sneer down at the people down below.

"Laxus? You're here?" Several members of the Guild exclaimed; that being said though, their surprise was not completely unwarranted. After all Laxus and his teammates, the Thunder Legion, were very rarely seen in the Guild. With them usually being out on extended missions, and only coming back to brag about their recent success before grabbing another mission. Or at least that is what they had done until recently, as since Naruto had been put in charge they had been lying low, and had not been seen in the guild once over the last few months.

Or at least they hadn't, now though, with Makarov having returned, Laxus had obviously decided to make his presence known again.

"Yeah he's been here for a while, but has thankfully stayed quiet like a good little boy." Naruto said mockingly, only partially telling the truth now as he had not been certain, what with there being so many magical presences in the building, it was hard to distinguish one among the many. Still he wasn't about to admit that. Though his acidic comment did earn him a frown from Makarov and a growl from Laxus.

"Another one of Fairy Tail's strongest." Gray said offhandedly in explanation to Lucy as she looked up at Laxus, with her having heard of the powerful Lightning Wizard before, even if she had not yet met him.

"Well anyway Mystogen's not the most social person in the world. Most of us don't bother him when he visits, though it is a bit annoying how he uses that **'Sleeping Spell'** , but still he's harmless, just a little eccentric." Naruto chipped in as he looked between Gray and Lucy, before his gaze once again shifted over to Laxus.

"He's shy." Laxus added on with a smirk before turning back to Gray. "But anyway, Mystogen might be an oddball, but he's an S-Class, and so it's none of your business what he looks like and what he does."

"Laxus, fight me!" Natsu shouted suddenly from in the midst of the Guild, even as he leapt on top of a table, his finger pointed accusingly at Laxus.

"Natsu, haven't you learned your lesson?" Naruto sighed, after all if he couldn't beat Erza, then he wouldn't be able to beat Laxus, it was common sense really.

"You were just beaten by Erza," Gray said dryly. "Surely you have had enough?"

"They're right; if you can't beat Erza, then there's no way you can beat me." Laxus declared with a snort and an arrogant laugh.

"What are you implying?" Erza asked darkly as the temperature in the room seemed to suddenly plummet, the red head's expression darkening, even as she clenched her hands into fists. Despite Gray's frantic efforts to calm her.

"That I am the strongest." Laxus declared dramatically, his lip curling upwards revealing a set of pearly white teeth as he smirked down at the assembled 'losers' before him.

"Then get down here and prove it!" Natsu snarled with a raised fist, his hands almost shaking as he tried to restrain himself hurling himself up onto the second floor and beating the shit out of the blonde Lightning Wizard.

"How about you come here?" The blonde taunted in response, flexing his index finger in a mocking gesture for Natsu to come and get him if he had the guts too.

Just as Natsu was about to launch himself up to the second floor, he was interrupted by a sudden snort of laughter from behind him, a sound that cut through the crowded Guild Hall.

"You? The strongest?" Naruto laughed out from where he was sat at the bar, his blue eyes flashing in amusement, as he sent a smile that was almost identical to Laxus, back up at the younger man. "That's a good one kid. You're a long way away from being the strongest in the Guild. You would do well to keep mind that," he then remarked before with a flash of blue lightning he appeared behind Laxus before the blonde could properly react, his arm, completely encased in a blade made of purple energy, raised as if to strike the larger, more muscled man down.

Laxus's blue eyes widened in shock at this; he had barely even seen the other, older and more experienced man move, in fact he had only half turned by the time Naruto's glowing purple blade was resting on Laxus's throat. He had spent the last few months training almost obsessively in an attempt to take the Guild Master title from his Uncle Naruto. Only for him to then be too late as Makarov had already returned, but the training should still at least count for something. But yet Naruto had still gotten the best of him again, with what looked like very little trouble too, the bastard!

For once, there was absolute, complete silence in the entire Guild Hall as all of the assembled Wizards looked up in shock at the ongoing situation as Naruto held a lethal blade to the neck of his nephew.

Lucy gaped, looking between the empty spot where Naruto had been standing just moments ago, to where he was now the smile absent from his face as he locked eyes with Laxus. She had heard Naruto was tough, but this this was beyond what she had ever expected, there was a big differences between hearing what he was capable of, and seeing it for herself.

Erza too was shocked by the speed of Naruto's attack, she had already fought him before but this was on a whole other level to how he had moved when they first fought. So much so that she now started to believe he was holding back massively when they had first fought. Which was a slight if ever there was one, after all she was proud of her abilities, very proud, and for him to not take her seriously, well suffice to say she wasn't happy about it.

Natsu cracked his knuckles and grinned, after which he broke the silence, in typical fashion. "Fight me!" He bellowed seemingly to the room at large, breaking the tension in the room, as a couple of people chuckled nervously, and many others shot him incredulous looks.

"Don't be an idiot man." Gray mocked, letting loose a short laugh as he did so. Even he could see that his rival would be no match for either Naruto or Laxus.

Completely ignoring Gray in his excitement, Natsu launched himself towards the second floor his fists on fire as he made to engage the two blondes, only to have Makarov's enormous fist smash him to the floor. Lucy's eyes nearly popped out of her head as she saw this.

"You are not allowed to go to the second floor Natsu... not yet at least." The elderly man said sternly, before his dark eyes flicked up to the ongoing confrontation. "And you two! You're family, so start acting like it!"

"Seems like you've made him mad. Come talk to me when you can come up to the second floor" Laxus chuckled, ignoring Makarov and his Uncle as he instead looked down at the grumbled Natsu. With Laxus being certain that Naruto would not attempt to actually harm him, not with Makarov there.

A belief that turned out to be true, because as he said this Naruto flashed away in a burst of lightning and once again appeared next to Makarov by the bar, once again relaxed, and chilled out.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime Later)**

"What did you mean by the 'second floor' just now?" Lucy asked Mirajane, the white haired barmaid, who's kind and gentle demeanour made her the one Lucy approached most when she wanted to know something, after all she was a warm, kind and friendly girl everything someone would want in a friend.

"The one above this floor of course?" Mira replied cheerily, motioning at the stairs as she did so.

Lucy blushed in embarrassment at the answer she received from Mirajane, before she shifted awkwardly. "It's just, well, it's just I didn't know there was anything up there?"

"The second floor is for S-ranked mages only; the missions are thus S-ranked and much harder than the A-rank and below ranked missions which are on the mission board on the first floor. Of course, the rewards are several times that of the first floor missions, but S-ranked missions take longer because of their difficult, hence why they are separated and only available to S-Class Wizards. And before you ask, to get promoted to S-Class, you need to pass an exam and fulfil various requirements. Which is obviously why there are currently only six mages in the Guild qualified to do S-ranked missions in Fairy Tail, inkling Mystogan, Erza, Laxus, Gildarts, Master Makarov and one other" Mira continued deciding to answer Lucy's question after her little bout of teasing, after all she knew what the younger blonde had meant from the beginning.

"Oh so is Naruto the other S-class mage you spoke of?" Lucy asked jumping to a reasonably logical conclusion.

"Oh no, Naruto is not an S-class mage, in fact I am not sure what class he is?" Mirajane said resting her hand on her chin a cute questioning look on her face before she looked over to the old man also sitting at the bar. "Master what is Naruto's rank now?"

"Hmm, you know that is a pretty good point, what rank should Naruto be?" Makarov replied as he gave Naruto a sly smile. 'He can't be an S-class mage, after all he has not taken the trials and can't become one without doing so."

"Oh come on Makky you can't pull this shit, I was the Guild Master you know!" Naruto shouted out in amusement.

"A temporary one which you should know? So that being said I think I will call you a B-class mage same as Macou and Wakaba. You're at around their level." Makarov retorted before smirking at his father, after all he knew how tough the old man actually was.

"Oh come on at least call it A-rank/ SS" Mira pitched in helpfully.

"No that just sounds silly!" Makarov said.

"Way to ruin it Mira." Naruto commented, before sending her a smile lessening the impact of his words.

Not that it helped as Mira immediately burst into fake tears drawing the ire of all the men within hearing distance upon Naruto.

"Oh come on that is not fair! And fuck off and stop glaring at me you gits!" Naruto shouted out as Makarov laughed in the background and Mira sent him a sly look from behind her hands.

 **( - )**

 **(Fairy Tail Guild Hall, One Day Later)**

"Master, a posting disappeared from the second floor mission board!" Mirajane called out in distress as she quickly ran down the staircase from the second floor and over to the bar, where as usual Makarov was sat drinking, though fortunately it wasn't booze, not this early in the morning that is.

Upon hearing Mira's news Makarov unceremoniously spat his coffee out, drenching all who were in his direct line of sight in coffee, raising more than a few shouts of annoyance as he did so, not that he cared as his eyes instead swivelled over to Mira, his expression already thunderous.

Naruto though, upon hearing the news, immediately snorted in laughter, after all it didn't take a genius to figure out just who stole the S-Class mission request, Natsu. With what Laxus had said yesterday having probably motivated Natsu to do something completely and utterly stupid, probably by prompting him to take a mission that he wasn't ready for.

Thinking about it Natsu reminded Naruto a lot of himself many, many years ago, back when he was a wet behind the ears kid of thirteen trying to take down Zabuza, a powerful A-rank opponent, in fact now that he thought about it Makarov did a similar kind of thing with his own team when he was a teenager, and the less said about his grandson, Ivan, and his recklessness the better.

"An S-Class quest is missing? Wonder who did it." Macao thought aloud, his tone somewhat sarcastic.

"It's either someone really strong or really stupid." Wakaba commented obliviously, not catching onto his friends sarcasm as the brown haired wizard still tried to work out who the culprit might have been.

"Anyone have any idea who did it?" Loki asked to no one in particular, the orange haired wizard being one of those who hadn't caught on yet.

"I know who took it… I saw a little blue cat snatch it off the wall last night." Laxus spoke up from where he was hanging out on second floor, carelessly resting his feet atop the wooden table on which he sat as he leered down at all of the Guild Wizards gathered below.

"It was Happy?" Mira asked pensively.

"That's crazy, he must've taken it for Natsu and Lucy" Wakaba reasoned as he idly scratched his chin, knowing as he did that the pair of wizards had likely gone off together, oblivious to just why S-Class mission were ranked so highly.

"They've got some nerve…" Alzack stated from his seat at another table, his teammate, the beautiful and skimpily dressed Bisca leaning against the table with him, frowning at the realisation of just what the duo had done.

"I don't know about that, but they're really dumb if that's true." Bisca added in herself as she watched the ongoing shenanigans.

"That's a serious breach of the rules. Hey gramps, a stunt like that'll get you kicked out of the Guild, am I right? I guess it doesn't matter though since it's not like those losers are going to make it back from an S-Class mission alive." Laxus scoffed from his place on the second floor.

"Laxus, if you knew what they were up too, then why didn't you stop them?" Mira asked, lightly glaring at the blonde-haired man from her position next to the Master, her opinion of the Guild Master's grandson, falling lower than she had thought possible.

"Have you met Laxus, he's a bit of a dick you know." Naruto said bluntly to Mira, his tone mild and unconcerned as he shot his great grandson a slight grin, his words causing some of the surrounding wizards to snort in amusement.

"Oh lighten up. All I saw was a blue cat flying off with a piece of paper in its mouth trying to act all sneaky. I had no idea it was Happy… besides Natsu's not cleared for S-Class. I had never dreamed he'd break the rules." Laxus replied ignoring Naruto's comments, as a cocky smirk spread across his lips.

The white-haired barmaid directed a look towards the S-Class wizard that would have caused lesser men to cower in fear. A sinister aura was laced in her expression, and the glare that she directed at him, one that could send chills down the spine of most who saw it.

"Hmph… you haven't given me that look in a while." Laxus commented in amusement as he stood by unaffected by Mira's look, brushing off the traces of demonic aura she was giving off with ease, after all he was more than aware of what her magic was, and had fought against it before, after all he had been the one to test Mira when she had gone for her own S-Class trial.

"This isn't good… I expect this kind of thing from Natsu but not that Lucy girl, I thought she had a good head on her shoulders when I met her." Makarov said in a disappointed tone of voice, shaking his head as he did so, already imagining the headache he was going to get from those two kids and their shenanigans.

"Which request was taken by the way?" Macao inquired, unaware as he did about just what kind of S-Class missions were available, after all the second floor was reserved for S-Class wizards, and so was a place he had never been able to go.

"I think it was the one on Galuna Island." Laxus replied, his smirk increasing in size as he spoke. Incidentally this prompted Fairy Tail's former Take Over: Demon Soul Wizard, to glare even more heavily at him, though again he just ignored the biting look as he instead met his grandfather's disappointed gaze mockingly, ignoring as he did the slight disappointment he could detect in his Uncle's gaze too, as he did so.

"The cursed island?!" Several members of the Guild started exclaiming as muttering started spreading throughout the Guild about the island and the mysterious rumours that surrounded it, and its inhabitants.

"Are they insane?!" Macou shouted out getting to his feet with a look of genuine worry on his face now.

"Laxus, go and fetch them at once. That request is far too dangerous for them to even consider." Makarov ordered as he turned to his grandson hoping to give him a chance to redeem himself after the crap he had pulled.

"Ha! Yeah that's a good one, I've got better things to do than running all over Fiore looking for that idiot gramps. And besides, everyone in Fairy Tail is supposed to be able to take care of themselves… right?" Laxus replied callously, completely ignoring Makarov's offer at peace as he instead sneered down at the older, smaller man.

'Hmm! It appears my attempts at humbling the brat didn't go as well I had hoped.' Naruto thought to himself with a hint of solemnness, as he watched his great grandson's posturing, obviously Naruto's hot-blooded temperament bred true in Laxus.

"One of these days Laxus you are going to need to grow up." Naruto finally spoke up tiredly, rubbing his temples as he did so, before he looked up at the aggressive blonde.

"Back down Uncle! You got lucky before, but if we were to have a serious fight you will come out the worse for it!" Laxus snarled as he glared at Naruto, any past thoughts on his previous defeat at Naruto's hands gone. The man was an absentee figure in his life, some distant relative that dipped in and out of his life at will, and then had the temerity to think he could tell Laxus what to do!

"I don't care how you feel about Natsu! The fact is you're the only one strong enough to bring him back by force!" Makarov shouted ignoring the fact that Mira and Naruto were both in the room, and that both of them were more than capable of dragging Natsu back with ease.

"Sorry Master…" A voice called out from behind the orange-clad wizard.

Hearing the sudden interruption everyone turned to see Gray get up from his seated position with a serious look on his face, his eyes directed towards Makarov before next he spoke.

"…but I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you there." Gray continued before he started to head for the door, stripping off his coat as he did so. "I will go get Natsu back, don't you worry gramps!"

Watching as Gray left the Guild, Makarov raised no immediate objection as he instead turned to his side and made eye contact with Naruto. "Naruto could you please go after them?"

"I will give Gray a couple of hours if he hasn't got them back before then, then I will go get them." Naruto replied amiably enough as he too watched Gray leaving the building. As he finished saying that though, he got a number of frowns and looks from the surrounding Guild members, some of whom obviously didn't appreciate Naruto's lax attitude towards the ongoing situation. "Oh what, come on you have got to cut the cord at some point?"

"Naruto!" Mira said as she turned her deadly frown upon Naruto.

"What, come on Mira!" Naruto groaned, smiling slightly as he could almost taste the demonic energy in the air, the air on the back of his neck standing on end as the delightfully familiar dark energy washed over him, before he set his face in a stubborn frown.

"Well I won't serve you anything, to cook you anything until you go!" Mira then replied, giving him a smug smile as she cut off the wisps of demonic energy she was releasing and instead folded her arms in front of her large chest with a smirk.

"Oooh, well aren't you being a little pain in the arse!" Naruto replied with a laugh.

Any further retort from Mira however, was soon interrupted by the sudden slam of the front door as the formidable Erza Scarlet entered the Guild, her hazel eyes surveying the chaotic Guild Hall and immediately noting the tension. "What is going on!? What is with all the shouting?!"

"Ohh heyyyyyy Erza..." Naruto said as he saw Erza's glare of suspicion move to him, even as Mira and Makarov smirked at him, both of them already knowing what the blonde would do next.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime Later)**

"Are you sure this is really necessary!" Naruto complained from where he was stood leaning against the wooden balustrade of a large ship as it forged its way across the sea, cutting through the waves with ease, as its sails picked up the large gusts from the winds, speckles of salty water spraying onto the deck as it did so.

"Yes, it is indeed necessary. You as a former Guild Master of Fairy Tail should know that this is indeed necessary." Erza snapped back at Naruto from where she was standing at the prow of the ship, her red hair whipping back and forth behind her as she glared out to sea, her hazels eyes eyeing the distance as she ignored the spray from the sea as it speckled her silver armour with droplets of briny water.

"Hey Erza I'm curious, has anyone ever told you that you need to relax a bit?" Naruto said glibly as he looked over to the red head, his blue eyes twinkling with barely contained mirth as he saw the much younger woman tense up slightly at his nonchalant comment.

"As if you actually know anything about me!" Erza snapped unexpectedly as she turned to look at Naruto her eyes flashing dangerously and her scarlet hair swirling about behind her as she glared at her former Guild Master.

"Well it would be hard for me to know anything about you, if you have never told me anything in the first place." Naruto replied turning to face the red haired swordswoman as he did so, his smile becoming somewhat fixed at this sudden turn in temperament from the powerful wizard before him. He hadn't seen her this annoyed with him before, instead she treated him dismissively for the most part, ignoring him when possible, and being curt with him when not. She had never outright shouted at him, or snapped at him.

"Trust is a two way process, to get some you must give some first." Erza said firmly, her voice steady, even if there was a hint of… resentment… was that in her eyes, or was it something else, Naruto wasn't entirely sure.

"Ha! You are indeed a remarkable woman Erza Scarlet." Naruto said a few moments later, his smile turning softer and more genuine as he looked her in the eye. Not at all offended by her attitude, instead he was glad she was airing her grievances, it wasn't healthy to bottle these things up. "In fact it's at times like these that you remind me of someone."

"Remind you of who?" Erza asked curiously, her tone and posture still a bit stiff, but slightly more relaxed than before.

"Of a woman I knew long, long ago, an old flame of mine you could say." Naruto replied as he once again turned to look over the ocean, his eyes glazing over as a nostalgic smile spread across his face.

"What was her name?" Erza managed to get out despite flushing a bit in embarrassment at Naruto's comparing her to an old lover of his, sure she didn't particularly like the blonde. She could at least admit he was a bit handsome, in a roguish kind of way, similar to Laxus.

"Her name was Irene, Irene Belserion and she was amazing and beautiful, very similar to you really Erza. She had this inner strength and confidence that just drew you in and a love of life that was just intoxicating." Naruto said wistfully, before he paused and his smile faded slightly. "But she was also selfish and prone to anger on occasion, which I guess is one of the problems of being so passionate."

"Where did you meet her?" Erza asked curiously, quite interested in Naruto's tale as the blonde was very cagey about the details of his past.

"I met her when was just eighteen and starting out from her home on her quest to become both a powerful mage, and to stop a war that was raging on at the time. In fact she was actually the one who came to me, she had heard about me and my magic and had come wanting to me for help, hoping to get the power she believed was necessary to stop the war. Unfortunately she was disappointed, my magic is unique to me and unless certain conditions are met she would be totally unable to use it. That's not to say I didn't help her with her magic though, I had become knowledgeable about multiple different types of magic, and the different elements and I used that knowledge, though mainly theoretical, to help her how I could." Naruto said a slight smile on his face. "And what a student she was, a prodigy really, she soaked up anything and everything I could teach her, and more than that she reciprocated and imparted knowledge she had learnt to me, it was a wonderful time in my life really…"

Naruto trailed off here as he leant again the wooden balustrade of the ship, a glazed look in his eyes, as if he was thinking back to a time long ago, a happier time.

"So when did you fall in love with her?" Erza asked, all the stiffness gone from her tone now as she stared at the blonde, seeing him for the first time without his defensive wall up, and noting as he did how very tired, and sad he sounded.

"Within the first year of her learning under me, sometimes literally." Naruto replied with a wink at Erza, something which caused the red head to flush with embarrassment before she resolutely looked away. "We were together for threeyears and were happy, for a time at least."

"Then what happened?" Erza asked pushing down her interest in Naruto's age as she heard him talk, after all she had always presumed him to be much older than he looked, what with the way he interacted with Makarov, and the fact that he was somehow Laxus's Uncle.

"One day she just left, she told me she had learned all she could and that she was leaving, by that pint the war was still raging on and she had other responsibilities, after all she was of royal blood, oh yeah and had a husband. Well anyway, she left, claiming as she did that if she ever wanted to be the greatest mage to walk the earth, and to end the war, that she couldn't do it with me weighing her down." Naruto replied with a sad smile, grimacing a bit as he admitted the fact that he had cuckolded Irene's husband, though in his defines he wasn't aware she was married at the time. "I know what you are thinking by the way, you are thinking what a bitch! And I would agree for the most part, though that is not to say that I don't respect her resolve and her determination to follow her dream, she was a complicated person after all. Plus she had an admirable dream, one that I had once shared many, many years ago, to bring peace to the world."

"When did this happen?" Erza asked as she tried not to give her comments to Naruto about what she thought of this Irene woman, and the way she had cast the blonde aside.

"Hmm, oh she left me many, many years ago, long before you were born. And I never saw her again either, I did hear a few stories through the grapevine though, and from what the stories say she made her dream a reality. Though I can't be sure, as I never really kept track, it was all a bit too painful for me at the time." Naruto said while looking out into the distance almost as if he was looking out to see if he could see her out there somewhere, something he knew was impossible, after all this had happened nearly four hundred years ago.

"Wait this all happened before I was born, then that must have been more than twenty years ago! And you were with her even years before that! Just how old are you Naruto?" Erza asked her brow furrowing in confusion as she looked at the youthful blonde, noting as she did that his walls were back up, and he no longer looked as vulnerable as he had moments ago.

"I will answer your questions another time Erza but right now we have other things to do." Naruto said very unsubtlety avoiding Erza's questions, not that he was ashamed of his age, or scared of telling her, instead he just knew it would lead to a lot of question, some of which would be invasive, and would involve matters he very much didn't want to discuss.

"Wait what? What do you mean?" Erza asked as she swung her head around to where Naruto was looking.

"Why Erza, we are at Galuna Island and in case you forgot we have a little job to do there." Naruto replied as he looked out over the sea, and at the large and mountainous Island of Galuna in the distance, which at this present point in time was bathed in an eerie purple light.

 **( - )**

 **AN: So this chapter has been cleaned up a bit since it was first published, and I have tinkered with parts of it, updating bits and pieces in line with more up to date information, and with the changes in the plot I have made since the original. Still it took a while so I hope you all enjoyed it.**

 **Thanks for reading, I'm hopeful that I will be able to finish at least one or two of my stories this year, though which ones I am not sure.**

 **I will admit I am tempted to just choose two to focus on to the exclusion of the other ones, so I can get them finished, before turning my attention to the other stories. I have seen other authors do the same, and am tempted. I just need to pick the right stories, those that I have a lot of inclination and interest in at the moment, as I don't want to force a story I'm not feeling.**

 **Thanks a lot for reading, I hope you all review and tell me your thoughts.**

 **Seagate.**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: So not really much to say about this, only that I am still plugging away, reading through my old chapters, cleaning them up and improving them where I can, whilst also editing certain details so that they fit with the much revised plot for this story.**

 **Hope you continue to enjoy and leave a review.**

 **( - )**

 **(Last Time)**

 _"I will answer your questions another time Erza but right now we have other things to do." Naruto said very unsubtlety avoiding Erza's questions, not that he was ashamed of his age, or scared of telling her, instead he just knew it would lead to a lot of question, some of which would be invasive, and would involve matters he very much didn't want to discuss._

 _"Wait what? What do you mean?" Erza asked as she swung her head around to where Naruto was looking._

 _"Why Erza, we are at Galuna Island and in case you forgot we have a little job to do there." Naruto replied as he looked out over the sea, and at the large and mountainous Island of Galuna in the distance, which at this present point in time was bathed in an eerie purple light._

 **( - )**

 **Chapter 12**

 **( - )**

 **(Galuna Island)**

"Come on Naruto, let's hurry before any of those idiots get themselves hurt or worse." Erza shouted to Naruto as she and the former Guild Master hurried through the dense foliage that covered Galuna Island's southern shore.

The urgency in her voice clear for Naruto to hear. Though this was likely due to the sound of distant explosions and screams that they could hear in the distance, and also probably due to the massive grey rat with a pink bonnet on that was crash banging about the area. And yes that was really happening, neither of them were high or hallucinating, there really was a giant rat lumbering around the island shrieking and screaming.

"I'm coming Erza, but being honest I really don't think we have anything to worry about." Naruto replied calmly as he jogged along after her, easily ignoring the fierce, red haired mage's glower as he expanded on his point. "Natsu, Gray and Lucy are not push overs or weak by any means. They're Fairy Tail mages and are all pretty tough and capable. Do you really think any of them are going to be beaten by an overgrown rodent over all thing? No I reckon that they'll have already beaten it by the time we arrive."

"It does not matter whether or not you think they are capable of dealing with this. This is an S-Class mission for a reason, and we were sent to bring them home safely, safely. And since our comrades are in danger it is therefore our duty to help them." Erza replied as she crashed through the woodlands a faintly glowing sword in her hand as she did so. The blade flashing through the air as she used it to cut through any trees or branches that got in her way.

Within a few minutes the two powerful Fairy Tail mages arrived at the source of the fighting. Both of them coming across a sight which neither of them would be forgetting any time soon.

Lucy, Gray and Natsu, the three relatively powerful mages that Naruto had had so much faith in before were all currently fleeing in terror from the overgrown rat. None of them even trying to fight it off as they instead just fled.

"What the hell do they think they are doing?!" Erza shouted out as she saw the sheer ridiculousness of the situation, after all she too had thought the trio would be more than up to dealing with an oversized rat.

Unfortunately though she was completely ignored as Gray, Natsu, and Lucy were all far too busy running to even look up. Lucy crying out in terror as she ran, her words barely coherent even as Natsu and Gray shouted out too, though by the sounds of it the two of them weren't shouting about the giant rat that was chasing them. No, instead it appeared that they were arguing about something or another.

"Hmm, maybe my expectations were too high?" Naruto muttered to himself questioningly.

Erza frowned at that, after which she turned back to the fleeing mages. However before could call out or say anything, likely something harsh so she could vent her growing anger and irritation, she was interrupted by Gray.

 **"Ice make: Ice Cannon"** Gray shouted turning to face the rad midstride as he slammed his fist against his open palm, his magic activating and forming a light blue magic circle in front of him. A magic circle that soon grew larger as it created a large, long-barrelled cannon made entirely of ice.

With a dull bang a cannonball made entirely of ice erupted out of the newly formed ice cannon. With Naruto, Erza and the others all watching on as the ball of ice shot forwards in a blur before it then crashed into the giant rats gut.

The blunt force of the impact sending the creature onto its back with an ear splitting shriek, even if it didn't penetrate the giant rodent's thick hide.

The effect was only momentary though as with another ear-splitting shriek the rat twisted around, knocking trees over and tearing great gouges into the earth, as it lumbered back onto its feet again. After which it bared it's large yellow fangs, shrieked again and lunging forward, noxious clouds of greenish gas streaming out of it's foul maw as it did so.

 **"** **Disintegrating Railgun!"** Naruto muttered, shifting forwards and drawing on the colossal energy flowing through his body, condensing it down as much as he could between his hands before he then clapped them together, his fingers extended, cupped and curved in such a way that he made a nozzle. One that suddenly erupted with a beam of crackling blue lightning as he pour his magic into his hands, converted it into lightning and the released it in a single overwhelming blast.

The giant rat didn't even have a chance to react, all it heard was a loud crackle, followed by a dull 'boom,' after which the beam of lightning stuck it, the straight forward attack tearing up and melting the ground below it as it passed, before it his the creature in the side and seared straight through it. The sheer heat coming off of Naruto's Railgun seemingly cauterizing the gaping metre wide hole that ran straight through the rat's chest, piercing its heart and lungs, before it shot off into the distance, travelling for maybe a half mile before dispersing.

Following on from that though the rat tilted to the side as if it were about to fall, it was dead, though strangely still twitching. But only for a moment though before it's thickly furred hide began to break apart, starting from the wound and spreading outward. White ash like particles began floating off of the creature even as it fell backwards, its flesh disintegrating as Naruto's lightning flowed through it's body, ripping apart it's flesh.

A few moments later the rat finally fell, crashing through the thick woodland behind it, the flesh and muscle still slowing off of its form revealing yellowish bones as it collapsed the white ash coming from it's disintegrating flesh still flowing off of it.

"Oops. I think I overdid it a bit," Naruto then said blandly as he walked into the clearing, the dumbstruck Erza following after him as she watch the corpse of the rat continue to breakdown.

"Naruto you're here!" Lucy gasped in shock as she turned from the horrifying sight of the dead rat and instead over to the source of the voice. Watching as the former Fairy Tail Guild Master walked into the clearing, his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and a bored look on his face.

Lucy's lips settled into a hopeful smile at the sight of him. Her feelings on the blonde's arrival, and on the former Guild Master in general still slightly mixed, what with the recent argument over the Golden Celestial Spirit Key. Despite that though, right now at this moment, after all the shocks and fear of the last few hours, including being chased by a giant rat that was trying to eat her, she had never been so happy to see him.

"No, no it's Master Bob. Of course its me blondie." Naruto replied sarcastically, his usually pleasant and mellow mood fading as he shoved his hands into his pockets and frowned at the group of Wizards and flying cat thing. This was not how he had wanted to spend his day, traipsing around some murky, misty island after errant kids who took on a mission they shouldn't have.

Then again the whole thing seemed so familiar, who else did he know who had taken on a dangerous mission with some comrades, had gone to a dangerous island and had had to be pulled out of trouble by a superior?

"Must you make a spectacle of everything you do? Surely as a former Master of Fairy Tail you should know better." Ezra spoke up next, her voice once again stern as she too walked into the clearing, forcing down her surprise over what Naruto had just done. After all she knew he was powerful, how else could had have defeated both Laxus and herself, on top of which he had eluded to being much older and more experienced than he looked.

That being said she was still a little peeved after seeing his attack, it showed just how much he had been holding back in their fight. Sure she could have likely weathered that attack with her Adamantine Armour, or the worst of it, but at the same time though she very much doubted she would have come out of it without injury.

"Erza your here too!" Lucy squeaked out as she saw the red head, her elation at the chilled out Naruto's arrival, twisting into fear and shock at the stern red head's. "W-Wait! Before you get angry, you should know that Natsu dragged me along, and that I only stayed because the villagers on the island are really suffering! We're helping them, and then there's a demon, and a curse, and we…" Lucy suddenly started stuttering as she saw Erza's face, desperately trying to explain the situation.

"I don't care. Naruto and I came here to bring you and the others back to the Guild to face punishment." Erza replied bluntly, her expression not changing for an instant despite Lucy's words.

"But…" Lucy began.

She was cut off, or rather, stopped speaking moments later though when the red head brought up one of her swords and aimed it directly at her throat. Needless to say the blonde was almost immediately paralyzed with fear.

"Let me make this easier for you to understand… you have _violated_ the Guild's rules and betrayed Master Makarov's trust in you. You will be lucky to get out of this with your lives." Erza stated ominously, her brown eyes darkening as she saw the younger blonde quail.

"Y-You wouldn't really hurt us… would you?" Lucy asked with a stutter before she sent Naruto a pleading look, her previous irritation with him forgotten now as she instead gave him a beseeching look, asking for help.

The red head though, just continued to direct an ominous glare at her 'prisoner', though she did at least have the courtesy to withdraw her blade, especially now that her point had been thoroughly illustrated.

"Yes. When Master saw that you had broken the rules and gone on an S-Class mission he decided to send Naruto and I to collect you and take you back for severe punishment, by any means necessary!" Erza responded with a glare, the three errant members of Fairy Tail all flinching when she said the words ' severe punishment' and 'any means necessary'.

"Naruto, Erza?" Gray himself asked as he saw them both standing there, one looking stern and fierce, and the other looking like he was in desperate need of a drink. "Why did the Master send you two as well? I told him I could handle it!"

"Clearly." Naruto spoke up, his lips twitching upwards in amusement as he looked from Gray to the dead, skeletal corpse of the rat and back.

"Still though..." Gray began petulantly before being interrupted.

"Enough, you three can be dealt with later. For now let's go sort this mess on the island out!" Naruto said decisively, meeting Erza's hard gaze with a cool one of his own for a moment, before the red head reluctantly nodded. After which he set off in the direction of the large temple that visibly occupied the centre of the island, the top of the building having a distinctly ominous purple glow to it leading him to the belief that it was somehow important to this mess. The others all following along after him. "Oh and Erza, you can punish them later. For now let's finish the mission first."

Erza scowled as she heard that, but eventually nodded, deferring to the older Wizard's orders for the moment. "I look forward to it."

The other three all flinched as they heard that.

 **( - )**

 **(Sometime Later)**

"For fucks sake Natsu, were you dropped on the head as a child?" Naruto shouted at Natsu as he and the rest of their group found themselves free falling through the ancient temple's stone floor, all because Natsu ignored their warnings and ran ahead. All of them more than aware that as they fell so to were large pieces of masonry, the large blocks of stone crashing into the ground sending up shards of rock, and threatening to crush them as they did so.

Instead of a proper response all Naruto received in reply was a shout of fear followed by Natsu shouting. "Screw you Naruto!"

Before anyone else could say anything else the group then crashed into the ground, each of the mages using different methods to save themselves. Erza simply re-equipped into her 'Heaven's Wheel Armour' before using the metal wings attached her armour to glide to the ground safely, grabbing Lucy by the back of her outfit as she did so, the hovering swords above her shooting out to deflect falling rocks.

Gray meanwhile slammed his fist onto his palm before shouting out, **"Ice Make: Ice Slide!"**

As he did so a blue magic circle was created beneath him, from which a slide made of ice appeared. Which Gray landed on before using it to surf down the slide to safety, shifting around as he did to so, in order to avoid the falling rocks as they rained down on them and hammered into the floor.

Natsu's solution to the problem though was much simpler as he did not have to do anything, Happy his constant companion simply grabbed him by the shoulders and used his wings to safely move Natsu onto the floor his teeth gritted in concentration as he weaved in between the falling rocks.

As for Naruto he just charged lightning magic through his body, enhancing his body, before he landed on the floor in a crouch, the floor shattering beneath his feet as he did so and a wave of electrical energy shooting out of him shattering the falling rocks around him.

"Is everyone alright?" Erza asked as she looked around her and saw that everyone was at least still alive.

"Yes," Lucy replied as everyone else grumbled in the affirmative, a number of them glaring at Natsu for causing the situation in the first place.

"Natsu you idiot!" Gray shouted as he too glared at Natsu.

"Ah get over it!" Natsu shouted cheerfully completely oblivious to the mood of the room, before without another word he took off running into the darkness breathing out small burst of fire as he did so to light the way ahead.

"Seriously." Lucy sighed in exacerbation.

"Natsu wait!" Erza shouted as her and the rest of the Fairy Tail mages chased after the pink haired Dragon Slayer. All of them running fast to try and catch up with Natsu, only for the dark passageway they were running through to open up into a large, brightly lit cavern.

"Whoa…" The group heard Natsu say in an awestruck tone as they saw him stop still and gaze around in amazement.

Naruto and the others hearing the Dragon Slayers voice first, before an instant later they turned the coming corner and saw that he had stopped dead in his tracks and was currently stood in place staring at the centre of the cavern, his mouth agape in shock and surprise.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked as they slowly walked up to where Natsu was stood.

"What's the problem dip shit?" Naruto questioned in a bored voice as he followed after the rest of the group.

"Hey guys… what's that?" Natsu asked still staring off into the cavern as the rest of the group joined him.

Hearing Natsu's soft words everyone then walked out onto into the large section of the cavern and instantly saw just what the pink haired Dragon Slayer had been staring at. Before most of their eyes widened upon seeing that taking up most of the cavern was a massive, demonic looking creature, one that had been completely encased in a large dome of glowing ice.

"Forgive me for stating the obvious, but I would say that it is a demon frozen in a block of ice." Naruto replied dryly as he looked at the large demon in interest and a slight bit of familiarity as something about what he was seeing struck a chord with him. Something was very familiar about this creature, very familiar indeed.

"That's impossible…" Gray suddenly spoke up completely ignoring Naruto's sarcasm, his voice shaking slightly as he did so.

Most of those present had all been shocked at the sight of the encased monster. But Gray though, looked visibly disturbed, more so than anyone else. His pupils were shaking, slight amounts of sweat dripped from his brow, and his skin had paled to give him a sickly looking pallor. However, the only one who seemed to pick up on this was Naruto, as he happened to be the only one who did not seem at all bothered by the sight in front of them.

"It's Deliora… but that's impossible!" Gray stated in a shocked tone as he began to walk towards the ice that imprisoned the gargantuan beast.

'Hmm, I thought I recognised the beast.' Naruto thought as he looked up at it, remembering hearing about how a powerful Ice Wizard had put the demon on ice after it went on an idiotic, and pointless rampage in the far north nearly a decade back. Or at least that had been the last he had heard of Deliora. The last time he had seen the demon properly though, had been a decade before that, and back then he had had a much less imposing form, one that looked far more humanoid.

"How… how could this happen? Why is it here? What the hell is it doing on Galuna Island?!" Gray asked desperately as he looked around almost as if he hoped this was all just a bad dream.

"You've seen this thing before?" Erza asked directly, if slightly more gently than normal, her eyes taking into account Gray's shaken composure.

"It just can't be… it just… it just can't..." Gray stuttered out his face scrunched up with a mixture of terror and fury.

"Gray, please calm down." Lucy said in a low comforting tone as she took a step forward and placed a gentle, comforting hand on the Ice Wizard's bare, shaking shoulder.

"This thing… its Deliora, the demon of destruction." Gray said as he began to explain why seeing the demon had upset him so.

"Demon of construction?" Natsu asked in confusion interrupting Gray before he could properly begin his tale, earning himself a kick in the shin from Naruto as he did so.

"It's quiet time Natsu, just stay quiet and listen." Naruto said with a slight smile as he saw Natsu yelp in pain as he grabbed his aching shin, a sour look on his face as he glared at the smug looking blonde.

Before anyone could say another word on the subject though, several footsteps could be heard from down a nearby passageway, interrupting story time for the time being at least.

Hearing the sound of people approaching, the Fairy Tail wizards reacted instantly, shooting off to hide behind a nearby rock outcropping, with Erza dragging Naruto by the back of the collar when he made no move to hide. After all the sooner he got this over with the sooner he could get back to the Guild, and get a nice tankard of ale and a good meal in his belly.

"Let's try and find out what is really going on here." Erza whispered to Naruto as she dragged him over to where the others were all quietly hiding, even Natsu.

Within minutes of them doing so, two young looking men came out of a different entrance to the cavern, each of them looking very unusual. One of the wizards was a short, slim young man with long blue hair that was tied back in a long, plaited ponytail at his neck, with him also having large, very protuberant black square eyebrows. On top of that the man wore what appeared to be an antiquated looking green robe which came to just above his ankles, and which was tied around the waist with a thin black belt. He was striking, if a bit douche looking.

Accompanying the unusual looking short man was an even odder looking, taller man who had reddish brown skin and shoulder length, shaggy brown hair. The man himself was mildly muscular and of average height with distinctive animal features: including a pair of canine like ears sitting on his head, a small dark nose and a lower face that was coloured differently from the rest of his body, and finally sharp fang like canines that jutted out of both of his lower and upper jaw. Overall he bore a striking resemblance to a canine.

"The voices seemed to come down from here… I hate being awake during the day." The shorter man stated grouchily as he strolled into the cavern his hands held behind his back.

The dog like man grunted his agreement at that.

"So, Toby, were you exposed to the Moon Drip too? I mean you've got those weird ears…" The man then said jokingly, aggravating his companion.

"I already told you, they're a fashion statement you jerk! Why can't you ever be nice, Yuka?!" Toby shouted in a slightly shrill voice.

"Calm down, I was only joking." The now named Yuka replied calmly with an uncaring expression on his face upon seeing Toby's outrage, his dark eyes instead surveying the rest of the cavern.

"You don't have to be so mean about it…" Toby said in a slightly depressed voice as he kicked at the floor slightly, his moods swinging back and forth seemingly at random.

"Those two said Moon Drip… could that be the name of the curse?" Lucy wondered aloud, her voice still quiet as she looked to the others, all of whom had been listening in on the ongoing conversation.

"He did say it in reference to those weird ears, so maybe it is." Erza murmured to the rest of the group as she too watched them from behind the rock cropping, hoping to hear something of their plan.

Anything further the two men would have said was soon cut short upon the arrival of another individual, this time though it was a woman who entered via the very same entrance that the two men had. The woman in question was also quite striking, as had long, bright pink coloured hair, large blue eyes, large breasts, and a very curvaceous body. The woman's hair had noticeably been tied in pigtails, on top of which she also wore a choker tied into a ribbon around her neck, a purple and pink short spaghetti dress with light pink trimmings, black leggings, and high-heeled sandals.

"Toby, Yuka, something terrible has happened…" The woman said in a saddened tone as she walked up to the two men.

"What now Sherry?" Yuka asked in a somewhat annoyed tone while his other companion greeted the woman with a friendly wave and a grin.

"It's Angelica, she's gone missing. I fear she may have been attacked, there were sounds of a commotion early and signs of intruders on the island. It's all just so sad." Sherry replied in a depressed voice.

"You're moping around because someone attacked your stupid pet rat?!" Toby exclaimed.

"That thing was her _pet_?" Natsu muttered out as he gave the girl a surprised look.

"What a weird girl…" Lucy commented.

"Look who's talking." Happy said.

"What'd you say?" Lucy asked in a low threatening tone, glaring heavily at the blue haired cat, who merely smiled in response.

"She's not a rat… she's a brave hunter prowling the jungle to protect us. She is… love…" Sherry stated quite soppily.

Naruto fought the urge to groan out loud upon hearing that. The girl sounded pretty mentally unstable, or at least she was certainly a little crazy. After all who had a giant, man eating rat as a pet, and who called said rat 'Angelica' and referred to is as 'love'. This girl definitely had some screws loose.

"They aren't from the island; they have a different scent. They're not cursed like the villagers were either." Natsu muttered as he peeked around the rock.

Naruto merely sighed at this, before he shoved both Natsu and Lucy back down behind the rock and out of sight. "Stay down kiddos. I have the distinct feeling they're the ones who brought Deliora here in the first place. If we stay quiet we may hear just why they did it, and more importantly what they're planning."

"I agree." Erza muttered before continuing with a slight smirk. "And if we don't find out what we want to know then we will just force them to tell us."

Naruto's lips quirked upwards into a smile as he heard that. He liked the way the girl thought.

"Intruders… Just when we were almost finished with collecting the needed moonlight. How sad." Sherry said sorrowfully.

"Let's exterminate the intruders before they interrupt the Cold Emperor plans. Now that they've seen Deliora, we can't let them live." Sherry said passionately.

'Cold Emperor?' Naruto frowned as he heard the pretentious name. Before he could think any more on it though he heard the sound of a slight clattering in the distance.

Sticking his head up above the rock again the blonde mage saw that the three wizards had all turned towards where the noise had come from, after which they all rushed off in that direction.

"Where are they going?" Naruto muttered as he saw them leave, beginning to ready himself to follow before he was interrupted again by Erza putting an armoured hand on his shoulder.

"I sent Happy off to make a distraction, we will use this time to analyse what we have heard before we make a proper plan." Erza said firmly, knowing that if she allowed Naruto to go that he would crush anyone who got in his way, meaning that they wouldn't find out the whole plan which could mean they might miss something that could come back to bite them.

"This is beginning to become really complicated. Who the hell is this Cold Emperor bastard?" Lucy asked as she crossed her arms over her knees in contemplation, looking over to the others for answers.

"Why did they bring Deliora here? How did they know where Deliora was sealed?" Gray tagged on his own questions harshly, wiping away some of his cold sweat away. The Ice Wizard having somewhat calmed down now after his mini break down before.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"It was sealed in a glacier in the Northern Continent more than a decade ago. This immortal demon, Deliora, caused havoc at Isvan ten years ago. My teacher, Ur, she gave her life to seal this demon; I don't know why it was brought here, but it never should have been!" Gray snarled, his fist becoming covered in frost as his magical control slipped. "The Cold Emperor… who the hell that bastard is, but he won't get away with dishonouring Ur's name and her sacrifice!"

"Gray calm down." Naruto said sternly deciding to finally take control of the situation before it turned into more of a shambles then it already was.

With that said he laid his palm over Gray's fist, ignoring the spikes of ice that pierced through his hand draw blood, as already he could feel his regeneration kicking in, a useful side-effect of a combination of both his Uzumaki heritage and his formerly being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi before it died/ dispersed. "We don't know who Cold Emperor is at the moment, but I'm sure we'll find out if we stay here long enough. Moon drip is a pretty potent substance collected through a pretty powerful ritual. On top of that it's known to melt any and all forms of magic no matter how strong, and from the looks of that ice, these people have been collecting the moon drip for a while."

"They want to melt Deliora's prison!" Gray gritted his teeth in anger, his ire rising at the thought of his master's legacy being destroyed.

"All we can do is guess; how they knew where Deliora was isn't as important as what they are going to do with him now. We should plan our course of action before we do anything else." Naruto said before standing up and walking out from behind the rock outcropping, the rest of the group soon following his lead and stepping into the empty cavern.

Honestly Naruto wasn't bothered either way if Deliora got out. The demon was a bit of an arsehole, and had an arrogant and aggressive streak a mile wide. At the same time though Naruto still felt a certain sense of responsibility towards the demon. Not that he was about to explain that to any of those present, especially not with Gray acting so affected and angry.

 **( - )**

 **(A few minutes later)**

It was barely a couple of minutes after the trio of Dark Wizards had left, and the group had barely left the cover of the rock, only for them to be taken by surprise as a large, purple magical seal appeared on the ceiling of the cavern. The glowing magic circle then suddenly erupting with energy moments later, a large beam of purple light exploding forth from it and onto the large block of ice with the demon Deliora inside.

Within seconds the ice was bathed in ominously glowing purple light, small rivulets of water already beginning to run down the sides of the ice prison as the Moon Drip began its terrible work.

"The light it's shining on Deliora." Gray said, somewhat stating the obvious as he stopped and stared at what was happening.

"Then we should find out where it's coming from." Erza said as she looked at the purple light with a stern expression on her face, her eye trailing upwards to the rocky ceiling.

Everyone nodded in agreement at that, after which they ran off to see exactly where the source of the purple light was located, the group running through the tunnel the three mages had previously used.

As they followed the tunnel it split into two, one branch veering left and down whilst the other went upwards heading back to where the temple was located. As one they chose the one leading up to the temple, though Naruto did note the other one as a potential escape route.

After jogging through the tunnel the group soon appeared back in the temple, only this time they were in the main chamber, passed the area with the crumbling floor.

All five of them, and one cat, barely even stopping to look around as the group continued to head upwards. Erza leading the way a sword in her hand as she went, with Natsu eagerly following after her, whilst Gray, Lucy and Naruto followed somewhat slower, the three of them making sure to remain somewhat aware of their surroundings.

Within a few minutes the group arrived at the top of the temple, exiting through a stone archway as they left the winding, stone corridors of the temple and instead arrived at a large open area, one that looked to be filled with hooded and cloaked people.

Upon reaching their destination Erza crouched behind a large pile of rubble that had obviously come from some of the broken stone architecture that had previously been located on top of the temple, the others silently following after her, keeping their eyes riveted on the ongoing Moon Drip ritual.

 **( - )**

As the group of Fairy Tail mages looked out from behind the rocky rubble, they could see a circle of individuals wearing purple robes, each of whom were muttering an incantation beneath a large half-moon, stone sculpture that surrounded the hole far above where Deliora's resting place was.

"What are they doing?" Natsu asked in curiosity as the group hid behind the nearby pile of rubble, all of them crowded together as they attempted to keep out of sight of the strange cult of wizards so that they could see what they were doing.

"I'm not sure, but I think they're casting some kind of spell to capture the moonlight." Erza stated as she looked at the chanting group and the large magical circle that was located between them. "It must be this Moon Drip ritual."

"But then why are they shining it on Deliora?" Lucy questioned as she looked at what they were doing in confusion.

"It's an ancient spell called the Moon Drip, as I said before." Naruto replied impatiently as he glanced over the top of the pile of rocks. Honestly did no one listen to him. "They are harnessing the power of the moon to melt the ice surrounding Deliora, it is an ancient spell and requires a lot of power. That is also probably why there are so many of them."

"What? That's impossible, the ice from an Iced Shell can't be melted." Gray said having missed Naruto's previous explanation, lost in memories as he was at the time.

"Sorry kid, as I said before the Moon Drip can melt any form of magic. The ice from an Ice Shell included." Naruto replied having seen this before when he had first arrived in Earthland many years ago. Honestly he was beginning to get pissed off at having to repeat himself, someone really needed to knock some sense into these kid's heads.

"Those idiots!" Gray exclaimed loudly in outrage oblivious to Naruto's thoughts.

"Subtle Gray, real subtle. But anyway I also think that the villagers and the curse affecting them that you described is in fact just a side effect of the Moon Drip. Concentrated moon energy from the spell can contaminate the body." Naruto continued unperturbed by Gray's outburst. "I've seen the spell in action before, but not these side effects though. So it's possible I could be wrong. Or potentially this 'Cold Emperor' has altered the ritual."

"I'll make 'em pay." Natsu said raising his fist and causing it to burst into flame, completely ignoring the last bit of Naruto's explanation.

Before the Dragon Slayer could take any significant action though, Erza opted to slam her fist down onto his head causing, Natsu' s head to crash into the ground and stopping him from rushing the group of mysterious wizards, all of whom were so wrapped up in their chanting that they had not taken notice of the intruders yet.

"Quiet Natsu, someone's coming." Erza muttered with a frown, the tone of her voice causing Lucy and Happy to flinch a little bit and shrink back behind the recesses of the rock cropping they were hid behind.

As they did so the other braver members of the team, those who were not so easily cowed by Erza's harshness, watched as a man did appear with the three mages they had seen before Sherry, Yuka, and Toby, all of whom were following along deferentially behind him.

The man that they were following was of average height, but in spite of that he still gave off a commanding aura of strength and arrogance as he strode onto the roof of the temple as if he owned the place.

More than that though the man's appearance was completely hidden from view by the unusual and striking outfit he wore. The outfit itself consisted of an ornate, silver, horned helmet with a long red plume extending from the rear, the plume looking to be made from some kind of beast's hair. On top of that, the man's legs, arms and chest were also covered with an elaborately designed, flashy, set of silver coloured armour, over the top of which he wore a white overcoat which was trimmed with purple coloured fur around its collar.

"What a waste, I can't believe you woke me up for nothing. We checked the entire temple and couldn't' find anyone, save for that broken floor by the entrance and even that might be nothing. This place is falling to pieces after all. You know, I think your pet might have just wandered off Sherry, and this whole thing is nothing more than your usual, delusional ravings." The short man with blue hair called Yuka said with irritation, the dark bags under his eyes giving away his exhaustion as he glared over to the upset looking pink haired girl, who even now was complaining about her pet still being missing.

"Yeah! Maybe there weren't any intruders to begin with!" Toby countered his mood switching once again as his voice pitched with outrage.

"I'm afraid I have some sad news Cold Emperor. We thought we had intruders earlier today, but they seemed to have gotten away. I cannot speak of love in this situation." Sherry informed, using a sad tone of voice as she bowed low to the armoured man, sending longing glances to the man as she did so.

Once again Naruto had to question this girl's sanity. On top of that he question the trio's competence in general, they must have barely even looked before they came to the conclusion that they had nothing to worry about.

"Intruders?" The masked man questioned his tone sounding bored and sardonic, very similar most of the Fairy Tail group noticed to how Naruto sometimes talked when Natsu had been bugging him for a fight especially hard. The tone of this man's voice though sounded forced like he was trying to mask some emotion. Which was the complete opposite of Naruto as he tended to sound more natural when he spoke with that tone, with his tone instead seeming forced when he played off being happy and chipper.

Gray however noticed something different as he heard the voice, his eyes widening and skin paling slightly as he stared at the man who was clearly the leader of the group before him. A look that was seen by the ever observant Erza, who upon seeing Gray's expression put a warning hand on his shoulder to make sure he didn't suddenly do something reckless.

"So that's the Cold Emperor huh?" Natsu asked curiously, oblivious to anything else going on around him as eyed up the Cold Emperor, like a predator would a fresh piece of meat, or a hyperactive Dragon Slayer would an opponent who he could fight.

"Has Deliora been awakened yet?" The Cold Emperor continued to speak, his tone of his voice not changing as he continued to stare at the large magical circle above the group of Dark Wizards, the circle in question continuing to glow and slowly spin as it funnelled the power of the moon into the temple and the imprisoned Deliora.

"It should be later tonight or tomorrow." Was the reply received from Sherry who was idly playing with her hair as she shot love filled looks at the imperious Cold Emperor.

"Hmm, it appears we had less time than I thought. Do you think we should act now? Or should we wait to see why they want to free Deliora, or how many they number?" Naruto muttered to the other Fairy Tail mages surrounding him, catching Erza's eye as he did so, giving her the choice of what they would do next.

After all he might not know why they wanted to unleash Deliora, but they had at least confirmed that that was their intention. Now personally he wasn't bothered either way, after all no matter what happened the Moon Drip would soon be ending. His comrades though, they might have different thoughts on freeing the demon.

"We should move now, before they have a chance to free Deliora!" Erza hissed.

"The time has almost come… if there are any intruders and you see them I want you to kill them. I don't want anyone getting in my way." The Cold Emperor ordered his tone becoming frosty as he did so.

"They must've been villagers. No one else would be on this island." Sherry spoke up coming to a logical conclusion as to who the intruders could have been, as she unlike the others didn't just dismiss the possibility out of hand.

"Then destroy the village." He ordered in an annoyed tone, obviously having no time for such petty obstacles.

"Yes sir." The three answered immediately.

Upon hearing the cruel order from the man Erza let lose a slight growl as she released her hold on Gray and stood up from behind the rock outcropping, her actions seeming to be the trigger to Lucy, Natsu and Gray as they also made their move.

"I've had enough of this sneaking around!" Natsu bellowed out as he stepped out from where they were previously hidden, following Erza's lead as he did so, his fist quickly becoming enshrouded in flames as he charged forward.

'These kids.' Naruto thought to himself in exasperation as he saw the righteousness burning in their eyes, even as they made their impetuous move to stand against injustice without any real plan in mind. It was all so reckless and bull-headed. 'Truly Makky your children embody Mavis's dream of what Fairy Tail could become.'

"Stop right there!" Erza commanded as she left the shelter of the rock, re-equipping as she did so into her **'Black Wing Armour'** the black metal plates that made up her outfit shifting noiselessly against each other as she took up a fighting stance, a long black blade held two handed in front of her and the wings that were attached to the back of her armour open behind her.

Overall she cut a striking and intimidating figure. Something the four previously plotting Dark Wizards seemed to agree with as each of them leapt back in shock at the sight of her, though this only lasted for a moment before they gathered themselves.

"I recognize that Guild mark… they're from Fairy Tail." Sherry observed as she shifted into her version of a defensive stance, her right foot slightly ahead of her left and her hands raised as if she were about to conduct an orchestra.

"I see, so the villagers must've gone to some of the light magical Guilds for help." Yuka mused as he remained in the same stance as before, his hands held casually behind his back, a look of confidence now on his face as he identified who he was now facing.

"Don't worry about them. Go eradicate the village." The Cold Emperor ordered, his lips quirking upwards maliciously as he scanned the group of five mages and a strange fly cat that stood before him. Dismissing the pink haired mage with flaming fists, the busty blond girl who looked almost as if she wanted to burst into tears and the weird blue flying cat in an instance.

Instead his attention was on the dangerous looking red haired women who cut a deadly figure in her armour, an aura of crimson power seeming to leak of her figure as she shot him a look of barely contained rage.

After which his attention then moved over to the lackadaisical blonde who was wearing a brown leather jacket which was trimmed with grey fur. The man who seemed on first glance to be bored with the whole situation, though if one looked deep enough they might also be able to see the unnerving, hidden glee in his blues eyes.

The main focus of his attention though was on the man a few years younger than him, who had wild black hair, dark glaring eyes and was bare-chested. This one was someone who he definitely recognised.

"How can you order something like that?!" The blonde haired girl suddenly shouted out, her voice raw with outrage and fear as she did so, her eyes watering a bit as the emotion running through the girl almost overwhelmed her.

"Anyone who stands in my way is my enemy." The Cold Emperor replied callously, the dark eye sockets of his helmet giving his words more weight as they seemed empty and dead.

"What kind of answer is that?!" Natsu shouted in outrage, after which he charged the masked man his fist raised and covered in crimson and orange fire, not even bothering to wait for an answer.

At the exact same time Gray too also made his move, the dark haired Ice Wizard running headlong at his enemy, his hands covered in swirling icy blue magic, creating an aura around him that made the surrounding air several degrees cooler. His own actions a mirror of the Fire Wizards as they both through caution to the wind and charged.

"Don't you know what you are doing? You can't free Deliora! You have to stop!" Gray shouted as he took a several steps towards the group of dark mages in front of him, his hands still enshrouded in icy magic. Before as if to emphasise his statement he slammed his hands onto the ground, channelling his magic as he did so.

In answer to his actions the ground beneath him extended a number of metres before several uncontrolled spikes of pearly white ice exploded from the stone floor, the spikes heading straight for the Cold Emperor and his three subordinates. All of the deadly, sharp spikes twisting and growing as they found their power augmented by Gray's fear and anger, his raw, uncontrolled emotion leaking into his magic.

Instead of reacting like a rational human would to such an attack though the Cold Emperor instead, with just a nonchalant flourish of a single hand, cast a similar but more controlled version of Gray's spell. The floor around him becoming coated in a light frost of ice as three spiral shaped spikes erupted from the ground like tendrils, each of these spikes intercepting Gray's and shattering them, the impact causing a blast of cold air to rush over all of the watching mages.

"Well, another ice mage, that's quite the coincidence isn't it? Although maybe it should have been somewhat predicable considering the guy's pretentious title of the 'Cold Emperor'." Naruto spoke up blandly, not talking to anyone in particular, more just airing his thoughts as he watched the goings on before him. With Gray several metres in front of the rest of the group facing down against the Cold Emperor, who in turn was stood in front of his own little group.

"Lyon!" Gray shouted out, his dark eyes hardening as he saw the magic the Cold Emperor used, the sight of it confirming in Gray's mind the identity of Cold Emperor, something which only made him angrier.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?!" Gray continued to shout oblivious to everything else but the man in front of him.

"Oh Gray, it's been quite a while hasn't it." Lyon the previously named 'Cold Emperor' lazily drawled, the condescension in his tone obvious for all those present.

"Why would you of all people revive Deliora?" Gray asked his tone still harsh, though his voice not quite as loud now that he had gained the full attention of the man before. "Don't you remember what that beast did!? What is did to our Master Ur?!"

"Hn! Of course I remember what happened. Though I do wonder, tell me did you come here knowing that we would meet, or is this just pure coincidence. Or I suppose maybe it's fate..." Lyon stated nonchalantly avoiding giving any definitive answer to Gray's pointed question as he did so.

"You know this boy, Cold Emperor?" Yuka asked of his Master, the man's protuberant eyebrows furrowing slightly in confusion as he tried to follow the goings on in front of him.

"I thought I gave you an order Yuka, do not make me have to repeat myself." Lyon said harshly not even turning to look at his subordinate as he continued to face off with Gray.

"Yes sir." Yuka, Sherry and Toby replied in chorus before spinning on their heels and disappearing over the other side of the temple no longer in sight as they hurried to obey their Master's command.

"Wait where the hell are you going get back here!" Natsu demanded as he saw three of the Dark Wizards disappear, the Dragon Slayer making to follow them as he rushed forward in the same direction the Cold Emperor stood.

"Wait Natsu, don't go near him!" Gray shouted upon seeing his friend/ rival charge and mistaking his actions for an attempted attack on Lyon, something Lyon seemed to think too as he turned slightly to face the oncoming Natsu.

Unfortunately it was too late though as the Cold Emperor had already reacted to what he perceived as an attack. With Lyon extending one of his hands towards Natsu with a flourish, the hand glowing faintly with a light blue magic. Shortly after which a large amount of ice formed in the air around Natsu before it swiftly enclosed him in its icy grip.

It must have only taken barely a few seconds after Lyon's icy magic had surrounded Natsu's body, that the spell was completed. With Natsu now being completely encased in ice. In fact only his head and the lower half of the Dragon Slayer's arms and feet were left uncovered by Lyon's attack. These ice free body parts soon burst into flame as Natsu reactively tried to melt his way out of the trap he had found himself in.

"Lucy and Happy come with me!" Erza ordered as she saw what happened to Natsu, before within seconds she had grabbed Lucy with one hand and charged, her other hand holding the blade in preparation to strike.

"No Erza…" Gray began to shout as he thought Erza was about to make the same mistake Natsu had just made, only for him to be surprised by what she did next.

With an incoherent shout Erza swept her sword at Lyon, the black blade glowing red as Erza channelled her energy through it. Following on from which, as soon as she had finished her swing an arc of pure magic power left her sword, the arc having been further enhanced by the blade's enchantment. With the attack tearing through the air as it rapidly closed in on Lyon, the air around it crackling slightly.

The Cold Emperor seemed momentarily taken aback by this as he back stepped from the attack, only to quickly regain his resolve again as with another sweep of his arm and a call of **"Ice Make: Ice Shield"** the air in front of him swirled around before forming a thick shield of ice directly in front of him, the shield having a distinctive flower like shape.

With a loud splintering sound Erza's attack met the ice shield, the attack causing cracks to form throughout the shield.

But despite the damage done the shield still held, not that that mattered as Erza's attack had done its job, it had provided a distraction that allowed Erza to get past the Cold Emperor unimpeded dragging Lucy and Happy along after her as she did so.

With a crash the ice shield collapsed into large shards a few minutes later, which with a flicker of his finger Lyon transformed into birds made of ice. After which, with a call of **"Ice Make: Snow Swifts"** he had the sculptures shoot like bullets from a gun at where Gray and the still nonchalant Naruto were standing.

Neither of the two had to do anything to defend themselves though, as the still trapped Natsu accidently intercepted the icy avian missiles, the birds shattering harmlessly off of the ice that still surrounded Natsu's form. With Natsu completely oblivious to what he had done as he instead angrily exclaimed. "What the hell! Why can't I move!?"

"If I were to hazard a guess Natsu, I would say it was because you were covered in ice…." Naruto replied with a long suffering sigh, rolling his eyes as he watched Natsu stagger around weighed down as he was by the large chunk of ice attached to him. Shaking his head with another sigh Naruto instead turned to where Lyon was still standing, deciding as he did so to try and probe for more information. "So anyway, I take it you are the one trying to resurrect Deliora?"

"Yes… but I don't have time to mess around with the likes of you." Lyon replied coldly irate that his attack had failed and that Naruto and Natsu were still around. Extending his right hand Lyon once again prepared to cast another spell at the trio of mages facing him.

 **"Ice Make: Eagle!"** Lyon shouted swinging his arm in his opponent's direction and sending a flock of larger avian shaped ice missiles at his opponents.

With a crack of lightning Naruto vanished in a burst of bluish lightning only to swiftly appear behind Lyon his hands in his pockets as he thrust a lightning shrouded kick in the Cold Emperor's direction. Spinning on his heel Lyon was able to create a partial shield of ice in front of him which he used to deflect the worst of the attack.

In spite of that though he was still affected though as the left over force crashed into his body and sent him tumbling back several feet, his arms and legs partially paralyzed for a couple of seconds by the left over static electricity that ran through his body.

Removing his hands from his pocket Naruto raised his right hand into the air and channelled his magic to it. Almost instantly his hand and forearm was covered in crackling blue lightning, which within moments of appearing extended a foot forming what looked like a spear of concentrated lightning.

Staggering to his feet Lyon turned to see the spear of lightning pointed directly at him, the spear giving of a sound that sounded like a thousand chirping birds.

Looking at it, Lyon could feel the amount of condensed magic power coming off of blonde's unnerving attack, the sight of which caused a flicker of fear to run down his spine.

Before the blonde could strike him with his attack though, Lyon was given a reprieve when the blonde was stopped by Gray, who merely laid a hand on his broad shoulder a firm look on his face.

"Please… let me handle this Naruto." Gray said in serious voice as he saw Naruto turn to face him, a curious look on blonde's face as he tilted his head as if he were assessing him.

"Why?" Naruto finally asked after a few unnerving moments of silence, his tone showing his irritation at Gray's intervention. "And don't give me some angst bullshit about it being your duty to stop him, and that it is you're destined to fight him or some shit like that. I have no time or tolerance for that kind of overly sentimental drivel!"

"No." Gray said his lips quirking slightly as he heard Naruto's blunt comment. "I just really want to kick this assholes face in."

"Oh, well in that case go for it." Naruto replied suddenly with a bark of laughter at Gray's response, idly shaking his right hand and dispelling his attack. One which he had created long ago, with it having originally been based on his memories of Kakashi's Chidori.

Smiling slightly, Naruto could only shake his head in amusement. Gray had actually taken him by surprise, honestly he had been expecting some cringy angst ridden speech about how Gray was an avenger or some bullshit like that. But instead he received a response he himself would have come up with. It was certainly refreshing, and how could he say no to it. "You sure you can take him out kid? I don't want to have to clean up your mess."

"Of course I can…, now go, leave Lyon to me." Gray said with a confident smirk to Naruto before he directed a glare at the still watching Lyon.

"Haha, alright man you got it. I head off then, and go cause some mischief, I'll take Natsu back with me so the brat doesn't get in the way too. Just make sure to beat the crap out of the pretentious prick?" Naruto said with a bark of laughter, before reaching down and grabbing the pink-haired teen's hand and disappearing with a crash of lightning, leaving the Cold Emperor breathing heavily as he tried to maintain his calm façade whilst inside he was bristling with barely contained rage at the insults Gray and the now named Naruto were making about him.

"That was very foolish of you, sending him away Gray, very foolish indded." Lyon spat out as he faced off against Gray. "I would have thought you'd have remembered, I always was the strongest of our Master Ur's students. Against me you stand no chance!"

"Don't underestimate me Lyon because I'm taking you down here and now! There is no way in hell I'm letting you bring that monster back into this world!" Gray shouted in response, slamming his fist onto his palm and summoned his magic as he prepared for battle.

 **( - )**

 **AN: Yep same as the top I have not changed much about this, only cleaned it up. That being said I have changed a few bits and pieces so that it fits in with my grand plan for the story. I am hoping to finish rewriting all of the chapters soon so I can get onto some new content soon. That being said it is a bit of a bore, so I do dip in and out when I am doing this. After all it's not difficult, but instead is just quite long, I mean I've still got 40,000 plus words to read through and revise. Urghh. Especially since I find Naruto as a character a bit tiring at times, he's just a bit over used. Still I enjoy this story, and like writing when I get into it. Plus I feel like I owe it to you lot.**

 **Still I hope you retain your interest and still enjoy.**

 **Thanks for reading and I'll catch you all later. Also please do check out my other stories if you have the time.**

 **Seagate.**


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